I LIBRARY OF CONGRESS J 



f [SMITHSONIAN DEPOSIT.] 

| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA f 



\ 






i 



SKETCHES 



OF 



CHURCH HISTORY. 



COMPRISING A 

REGULAR SERIES OF THE MOST IMPORTANT 
AND INTERESTING EVENTS IN THE 

HISTORY OF THE CHURCH, 



FROM THE 
BIRTH OF CHRIST TO THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 



BY THE 

REV. JAMES WHAREY. 
*1 



A NEW EDITION REVISED AND CORRECTED. 



PHILADELPHIA : 
PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION. 



«J <J 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1840, by 

A. W. MITCHELL, M. D., 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District 

of Pennsylvania. 



Stereotyped by 

S. DOUGLAS WYETH, 

No. 7 Pear St., Philadelphia. 

Printed by 
WM. S. MARTIEN. 



CONTENTS. 



Preface, 7—12 

CENTURY I. 

Introductory remarks.— 1. State of the world in the beginning 
of the Christian era.— 2. Life and Death of Christ— 3. Ex- 
traordinary success of the Gospel.— 4. Form and order of the 
primitive churches.— 5. Errorists in the primitive churches — 

6. Persecution. 13 — 27 

CENTURY II. 

Spread of the Gospel. — 2. Persecution under the Roman 
Emperors.— 3. Rise of Monachism — 4. Origin of the dis- 
tinction between Bishop and Presbyter.— 5. Fathers.— 6. Rites 
and Ceremonies.— 7. Heretics. - 27—40 

CENTURY III. 

Persecution under Decius. — 2. Boundaries of the church 
extended. — 3, Learning. — 4. Increase of the power and au- 
thority of bishops.— 5. Writers.— 6. Theology corrupted.— 

7. Ceremonies multiplied.— 8. Heresies. - - 40—50 

CENTURY IV. 

Persecution under Diocletian. — 2. Constantine. — 3. Julian 
the Apostate. — 4. Learning. — 5. The church corrupted by its 
connexion with the State. — 6. Writers. — 7. Corruptions in 
Doctrine.— 8. Controversies. — 9. Ceremonies. — 10. Donatists. 
— 11. Arian heresy. 50 — 71 

CENTURY V. 

General interests of Christianity. — 2. Learning. — 3. Form 
and government of the Church. — 4. Degeneracy of the 
clergy. — 5. Monkery. — 6. Writers. — 7. Theology. — 8. Super- 
stitious and human inventions. — 9. Mystics. — 10. Vigilan- 
tius. — 11. The Donatists.— 12. Arians. — 13. Nestorians. — 
14. Eutychians.— 15. Pelagians, - - - 71—99 

iii 



IV CONTENTS. 

CENTURY VI. 

General interests of Christianity.— 2. Literature.— 3. Monk- 
ery. — 4. Theology. — 5. Rites and Ceremonies. — 6. Sects. 

99—108 

CENTUEY VII. 

Extension of Christianity. — 2. Mohammedism. — 3. Litera- 
ture. — 4. The Roman church receives the title of head of 
all the churches.— 5. State of religion.— 6. Sects.— 7. Mon- 
othelites. 108—117 

CENTURY VIII. 

Extension and sufferings of the church. — 2. Increase of cor- 
ruptions and power among the clergy. — 3. State of religion. 
— 4. Literature, — 5. Controversies. - - - 117 — 127 

CENTURY IX. 

The Church still extended in the West. — 2. Saracens and 
Normans. — 3. Ignorance and corrupt lives of the clergy. — 
4. Pope Joanna. — 5. Power and profligacy of the Pontiffs. — 
6. Monkery. — 7. Relics. — 8. Learning and theology. — 9. Con- 
troversies. — 10. Grace and Predestination, — 11. Contests be- 
tween the pontiffs of Rome and Constantinople. — 12. Rites 
and ceremonies. — 13. Ancient sects. - - 128 — 147 

CENTURY X. 

External state of Christianity. — 2. Literature. — 3. Wretched 
morals of the clergy. — 4. Doctrinal perversions and extrava- 
gances. — 5. Ceremonies. — 6. Paulicians. - - 147 — 154 

CENTURY XI. 

Efforts to extend Christianity. — 2. The Crusades commen- 
ced — 3. Dictates of Hildebrand. — 4. Profligacy of the Monks. 
— 5. Arrogance of the Pope. — 6. Berengarius opposes Tran- 
substantiauon. — 7. Paulicians migrate to the West. 

154—166 

CENTURY XII. 

Efforts still made to convert the barbarous tribes of the 
West. — 2. Prester John. — 3. Crusades — 4. Learning.— 5. 
Arrogancy of the Popes, and profligacy of all Orders. — 6. Su- 
perstition. — 7. Indulgences. — 8. The Petrobrussians. — 9. 
Henricians.— 10. Waldenses. • • 166—176 



CONTENTS. 



CENTURY XIII. 

Mogul empire. — 2. Crusaders. — 3. Learning. — 4. Tyranny 
ot the popes. — 5. Monks.— 6. Dominicans. — 7. Franciscans. 
— 8. Theology. — 9. Flagellants. — 10. Rites and ceremonies. 
— 11. Inquisition. — 12. Brethren of the Free Spirit. 

177-197 

CENTURY XIV. 

Religious wars. — 2. Literature. — 3. Pope's claims of au- 
thority, and bull Unam Sanctam. — 4. Two popes. — 5- Men- 
dicants.— 6. John Wickliffe. — 7. Contests of Franciscans. — 
8. Cellites. — 9. Theology.— 10. Ceremonies. — 11. Sects. 

197—209 

CENTURY XV 

Spread of popery, and depression of the Greek church. — 
2. Revival of learning in Western Europe. — 3. Corruption 
of the popish church. — 4. Western schism, and Council of 
Constance, — 5. John Huss and Jerome burnt. — 6. Council 
of Bale. — 7. Religious fraternities. — 8. Lollards, Waldenses. 
Calixtines, and Taborites. — 9. Fanatical sects. - 209—220 



CENTURY XVI. 

CHAPTER I. 

Corrupt state of the church. — 2. Profligate lives of the popes. 
— 3. Profligacy of the clergy. — 4. Monks. — 5. Inquisition, 
and ignorance of spiritual teachers. — 6. Indulgences — 7. Re- 
vival of learning. — 8. Witnesses for the truth. - 221 — 227 

CHAPTER II. 

Luther opposes indulgences. — 2. Pope's first bull, which 
Luther burns. — 3. Joined by Melancthon — 4. Luther at 
Worms. 5. Carolostadt.— 6. Zwingle. — 7. Dispute among 
the Reformers. — 8. War of the Peasants. — 9. Diets of Spire. 
— 10. Anabaptists. — 11. Council of Trent, and the pacifica 
tion ratified at Augsburg. — 12. England. — 13. Scotland. — 
14. Ireland.— 15. Netherlands. - - - 227—241 

CHAPTER III. 

The Jesuits.— 2. Francis Xavier — 3. Profligacy of the popes. 
— 4. Bull In Coena Domini. — 5 Points contested in the Ro- 
man church. — 6. Oriental churches. - - 242 — 247 

i* 



I 



VI CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER IV. 

Adiaphoristic and Synergistic controversies. — 2. Flacius. — 

3. Osiander. — 4. Consubstantiation — 5. Huber. 247 — 251 

CHAPTER V. 

Switzerland.— 2. Calvin.— 3. France.— 4. Scotland.— 5. Eng- 
land. — 6. Moravians and Waldenses. — 7. Doctrinal views 
of the Reformed.— 8. Anabaptists, or Mennonites. — 9. Men- 
no Simonis. — 10. Division of the Mennonites. — 11. So- 
cinians. 252 — 271 

CENTURY XVII. 

Missions of the Roman church. — 2. China. — 3. Japan. — 

4. Protestant Missions. — 5. Popish Missions in Africa and 
South America. — 6. Protestant Missions in North America. 
— 7. Infidelity. — 8. Learning. — 9. Popes. — 10. Efforts of 
Rome to reclaim Protestants. — 11. Abyssinia. — 12. Monks. 
13. Jesuits. — 14. Dominicans and Jansenists. — 15. Quietists. 
— 16. Lutheran church. — 17. Syncretism. — 18. Pietism. — 19 
Reformed churches. — 20, Arminian system. — 21. Synod of 
Dort. — 22. England. — 23. Arminians. — 24. Quakers. — 25. 
English Baptists. — 26. Socinians- - - - 272—307 

CENTURY XVIII. 

Romish Missions. — 2. Protestant Missions. — 3, Infidelity. — 
4. The Bull Unigcnitus. — 5. Jesuits and Jansenists. — 6. Greek 
and Lutheran churches. — 7. Moravians. — 8. British churches. 
— 9, Churches in the United States — Presbyterian. — 10. 
Episcopalian.— 11. Methodist.— 12. Baptist. - 307—317 

Appendix, 318—324 



PREFACE. 



The idea has too generally prevailed, that 
church history belongs only to theologians, 
and that it could be neither important nor 
interesting to the common reader. Hence 
there is perhaps no branch of knowledge, of 
which the mass of people are more ignorant, 
than the history of the Church of Christ in 
the world. Most of our church histories are 
too voluminous for the generality of readers : 
and this is one reason, perhaps, why the sub- 
ject has been so much neglected. 

Few branches of study would be found 
more interesting as an amusement ; certainly 
none, fuller of affecting and important inci- 
dent. Even the lover of romantic subjects 
would find many events recorded in the his- 
tory of the Church, of quite as powerful in- 
terest, as any of the dreams of fiction. And 
how much better would it be for our youth, 
to employ their leisure hours, and their sea- 
sons of recreation, in storing their minds with 
the interesting facts developed in the history 
of the Church of God in the world, than in 

(vii) 



Vlll PREFACE. 

feeding their imaginations with ideal fancies ! 
How much more profitable and rational to 
be employed in laying up knowledge in re- 
gard to the history of the Church, that has so 
direct a bearing upon the happiness of man 
here, and his hopes and prospects hereafter, 
than to spend so much time, as many do, in 
pursuing the mere vagaries of a wild imagi- 
nation, that have no real existence either in 
the present or the future world ; and that 
often tend only to corrupt the heart, and dis- 
qualify the person, as well for living in this 
world, as for dying and going to a better ! 

But the study of church history would be 
found, not only interesting and amusing, but 
highly profitable, in guarding and fortifying 
the mind against those errors that are so often 
introduced under the pretence of being some 
new discovery ; but which, on examination, 
will be found to be only some exploded no- 
tion of a former day, brought forward with 
some little modification, perhaps, and under 
a new name. Scarcely a new notion is 
broached, or a new sect springs up, but they 
will be found to have their prototypes in some 
opinion, or sect of antiquity. How much a 
correct knowledge of the past history of the 
Church would be calculated to guard the 
minds of people from being insnared and led 



PREFACE. IX 

away by such errors, it is easy to see. And 
hence we discover the importance of this 
knowledge, to every individual, and espe- 
cially to every member of the Church. 

But there is another reason why the study 
of church history should be encouraged and 
promoted in this Protestant country, as far 
as practicable : and that is, to guard against 
the influence and proselytism of the Roman 
Catholic Church. Great efforts are making 
by that body to gain an extensive influence, 
and establish a permanent footing in the 
United States. What can be calculated more 
effectually to guard our people against the 
insidious approaches and pretensions of that 
apostate communion, than to have a general 
knowledge of the past history of the Church, 
diffused through society ? It is there we learn 
what have been the spirit and practice of that 
Church, ever since she first assumed to be the 
only catholic and infallible church on earth ; 
and claimed the right, as the vicar of Christ, 
and the representative of God himself upon 
earth, to exercise spiritual dominion over 
every nation. There we learn how the na- 
tions of Europe have suffered under her do- 
mineering influence, and how she has ever 
waged a war of extermination against all 
that are not of her communion, whenever 



X PREFACE. 

and wherever she has had the power to do so 
And in this she is the same that she ever 
was. She has not given up her claim to in- 
fallibility, and therefore cannot change. The 
history of the Church developes to our view 
the whole rise, increase, and consummation 
of this mystery of iniquity. Let our people 
be well acquainted with the history of the 
Church, and we shall have but little to fear 
from Roman Catholic influence. 

Finally : The Church is the kingdom of 
God in this world ; and would any one be 
willingly ignorant of the history of this king- 
dom ? The histories of the kingdoms of this 
world are eagerly sought and read, although 
we may have no connexion with them ; shall 
we not, then, seek an acquaintance with the 
kingdom of God in the world, with which 
we do hold a most important connexion? 
The history of the Church, as an interesting 
branch of general knowledge, ought not to 
be neglected ; but when it is considered as 
that Church or kingdom of God in the world, 
in which each individual is regarded as a 
subject, or a rebel ; and in which each one is, 
finally,to be saved or lost; surely its history 
ought to be eagerly sought, and diligently 
studied. 

In these Sketches, I have followed the ar- 



PREFACE. XI 

rangement of Dr. Mosheim ; from whose Ec- 
clesiastical History, together with the notes 
of his translator, Dr. Murdock, most of the 
facts and materials are taken : so that this 
might be called an abridgment, or compend 
of that valuable work. When I have quoted 
the language of the author, I have generally 
employed marks of quotation. 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 



CENTURY I. 

Introductory remarks.— 1. State of the world in the beginning 
of the Christian era.— 2. Life and Death of Christ.— 3. Ex- 
traordinary success of the Gospel.— 4. Form and order of the 
primitive churches. — 5. Errorists in the primitive churches. 
— 6. Persecution. 

The history of the Christian church may be con- 
sidered as commencing with the birth of Jesus 
Christ, its divine Head. The four Evangelists 
narrate the interesting and solemnly important 
transactions and events, which terminated the 
old, and ushered in the new dispensation. The 
church of the new and spiritual dispensation, or 
the Christian church, was not fully organized 
under the New Testament form until the day of 
Pentecost, when the promised Spirit was " poured 
out upon them," to " lead them into all truth." 
Then the apostles were " endued with power from 
on high," and were completely qualified for their 
work. After this we find them under the guidance 
of the Holy Ghost, who doubtless directed them 
in all their public official acts, and in their writ- 
ings, or at least, superintended and overruled their 
conduct, so as to preserve them from error. And 
hence the Christian church is called the " minis- 
tration of the Spirit." (2 Cor. iii. 8.) The two 
2 13 



14 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

sacraments of the Christian church, baptism and 
the Lord's supper, were instituted by Christ him- 
self; but the particular officers of the church, its 
forms of worship, and modes of government and 
discipline, were left to be settled by the apostles, 
as occasion required, under the guidance of the 
Holy Spirit. 

The history of the church may be divided into 
internal and external ; the former relating to the 
purity of its doctrines, the piety of its members, 
the nature of its ceremonies, its modes of worship, 
its discipline, and its institutions ; the latter re- 
specting its extension, outward prosperity and ad- 
versity, and the external circumstances which had 
influence on its character. In regard to time, the 
history of the church may be divided into four 
grand periods; 1. From the birth of Christ to 
Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor, 
about the beginning of the fourth century. 2. From 
Constantine to Charlemagne, king of France, in 
the eighth century, by whom the Papal power was 
greatly promoted. 3. From Charlemagne to Lu- 
ther, in the beginning of the sixteenth century, by 
whom the Reformation was commenced. 4. From 
Luther to the present time. These four grand 
periods may also be subdivided into centuries. 

I. The coming of Christ, about the end of four 
thousand years from the creation, is said to be 
" in the fulness of time ;" by which we may un- 
derstand, that in the providence of God, there 
was a particular preparation and fitness in the 
state of the world at that time for his coming. 
At the birth of Christ, the Roman Empire was 
extended over almost the whole of the then known 
world ; it was in its meridian glory, and stood 
firm upon its " legs of iron." (Dun. ii. 33.) The 



FIRST CENTURY. 15 

arts and sciences had arrived at their greatest 
height in the heathen world, and philosophy had 
exerted all its powers. But in a religious point 
of view, the whole world was in a most deplorable 
condition. Among the Jews, indeed, the worship 
of the true God was maintained, but in a very 
corrupt state. They taught for doctrines the 
commandments of men, and were devoted to the 
mere forms and externals of religion, while the 
spirit and morality of it were almost wholly ne- 
glected. They were divided into three principal 
sects among themselves ; the Pharisees, the Sad- 
ducees, and the Essenes. The Pharisees were the 
most numerous and popular sect, who prided them- 
selves on their punctilious observance of the external 
forms and ceremonies of religion. They added 
many things to the law of Moses, upon the author- 
ity of their doctors, which additions were called 
the traditions of the elders. But their religion 
was little more than a hypocritical pretence. The 
Sadducees were a kind of sceptics of that day. 
They denied the existence of angels, and of a 
future state ; rejected traditions, and received the 
five books of Moses as of superior authority to the 
other Scriptures ; and appear to have regarded 
religion as a mere matter of state policy. Many 
of the wealthy, and of those who occupied high 
stations, belonged to this sect. The Essenes 
were a kind of monastic order, who retired from 
society, and spent their time in solitude and devo- 
tion. We read also of the Herodians ; but these 
it is probable, were not so properly a religious 
sect, as a political party. They were the favour- 
ers of Herod the Great, and of that government 
which he exercised under the authority of the 



16 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTOBY. 

Romans. The state of the Jewish church called 
loudly for a reformation. 

In the heathen world, the knowledge of the true 
God was almost wholly lost. The most wretched 
polytheism and idolatry every where prevailed. 
The discovery was completely made, and the 
practical truth fully developed, that " the world by 
wisdom knew not God." It seems to be the policy 
of God's government, to permit man to try his 
own strength first; and to afford extraordinary 
aid, when every other means has failed. Man's 
extremity is God's opportunity. Thus it is, he 
exalts his own almighty power, and " hides pride 
from man." 

A general expectation existed, not only among 
the Jews, but throughout the East, founded upon 
the predictions of the Jewish prophets, that a very 
extraordinary personage should arise in Judea, 
about this time, who should establish a kingdom 
over the whole world. Hence the alarm of Herod, 
when it was said that Christ was " born king of 
the Jews ;" and the consequent murder of the 
children of Bethlehem. Tacitus, Suetonius, and 
Josephus, speak very expressly of this expectation 
as being very general throughout the East ; and 
as being founded on predictions contained in the 
sacred books. Virgil plainly alludes to this ex- 
pectation ; and uses almost the very language of 
some of the prophets respecting the Messiah, in 
his fourth Eclogue, inscribed Pollio. The general 
acquaintance with the Greek language that then 
existed throughout the East, in consequence of 
the conquests of Alexander the Great; and the 
previous translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into 
that language by the direction of Ptolemy Phila- 
delphus, were no doubt designed, in the provi- 



FIRST CENTURY. 17 

dence of God to prepare the way of the Lord, and 
to facilitate the spread of the gospel. That state 
of general peace which existed throughout the 
Roman empire under the prosperous reign of 
Augustus Csesar, was peculiarly fitted for the 
advent of the Prince of Peace. 

II. In the fulness of time, when God in his pro- 
vidence had thus prepared the world for it, Christ 
made his appearance. His birth was indeed mi- 
raculous, and attended with extraordinary circum- 
stances ; but his condition, according to ancient 
prophecies, was mean and contemptible. " He 
hath no form nor comeliness ; and when we shall 
see him, there is no beauty that we should desire 
him." Until he entered upon his public ministry, 
at about the age of thirty, he seems to have resided 
with his parents in poverty and obscurity, and to 
have excited little or no public attention. He was 
preceded by John the Baptist, whose ministry 
seems to have formed a connecting link between 
the Jewish and Christian dispensations. It par- 
ticipated with both, but belonged properly to 
neither. By him Christ was baptized in Jordan, 
and thus was consecrated to his priestly office ; 
and at the same time, he received the unction of 
the Holy Ghost, who descended upon him " in 
bodily form, like a dove." His commission and 
authority as a divine teacher, were announced by 
a miraculous voice from heaven, saying, " This 
is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." 
During his public ministry, whicn lasted about 
three years, he manifested the most entire devo- 
tion to the glory of God and the good of man. 
He lived the most blameless and holy life, taught 
the most pure and heavenly doctrines, and con- 
firmed his divine character by a succession of the 
2* 



18 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

most extraordinary miracles. But the Jews, who 
expected a temporal deliverer in their Messiah, 
were offended in him, and by their influence with 
Pilate the Roman governor, procured his cruci- 
fixion. " He was numbered with the transgres- 
sors ; for the transgression of my people was he 
stricken." But on the third day, according to his 
own prediction, he rose again from the dead ; and 
after meeting with his disciples, and conversing 
with them on various occasions, for the space of 
forty days, he ascended up to heaven, and sat 
down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. 

III. Only a few days after his ascension, accor- 
ding to his promise, the Spirit was poured out 
on the disciples, on the day of Pentecost, and 
three thousand converts were added to the church. 
Prom this time the word of the Lord began to take 
root and spread. At this feast of Pentecost there 
were great numbers of Jews and Jewish proselytes 
present, from almost all the surrounding countries ; 
and many of them were probably converted on 
that occasion ; and when they returned home, 
carried the gospel with them. These would be 
pioneers to the apostles in their future travels 
through those countries, and greatly assist them in 
establishing churches. Paul was raised up by the 
providence of God, and called in a most extraor- 
dinary manner, from being a most virulent perse- 
cutor, to be the great apostle of the gentiles. By 
his abundant labours, assisted by various compan- 
ions, the gospel was spread in a short time, 
throughout Asia Minor, Greece, and the islands 
of the Archipelago ; and churches established in 
all their principal cities. 

To what extent the gospel was preached by the 
apostles themselves, except so far as indicated in 



FIRST CENTURY. 19 

the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles, is involved 
in great obscurity. From the most ancient tra- 
ditions, which have reached us, (more to be relied 
on than those of later date, and yet not greatly to 
be trusted,) it appears more or less probable, that 
Peter extended his labours beyond Judea and 
Syria, to Babylon, and to parts of Asia Minor ; 
that Matthew, Jude, and Thomas, penetrated still 
farther eastward, to Persia, Parthia, and India ; 
that Andrew and Philip spent some portion of 
their time, the latter in Phrygia, and the former 
along the shores of the Black sea ; that James, the 
son of Alpheus, remained at Jerusalem, till his 
martyrdom, shortly before the destruction of that 
city ; and that Bartholomew went to Arabia, and 
John to Ephesus, after the death of Mary, the 
mother of Jesus, where he lived to an advanced 
age. But although we are left to glean only a 
few uncertain and unsatisfactory statements re- 
specting the apostles, beyond what the New Tes- 
tament records of them ; it is, nevertheless, certain, 
that in the first century, and even during the 
lives of the apostles themselves, Christianity ob- 
tained a considerable prevalence throughout a 
great part of the then known world. 

The spread of the Christian religion in the first 
century, is truly wonderful ; and can be accounted 
for only on the supposition, that it was the Lord's 
doing. " The cause must have been divine that 
enabled men, destitute of all human aid, poor, 
friendless, neither eloquent nor learned, fishermen, 
publicans, and moreover Jews, that is, persons 
odious to all other nations, in so short a time, to 
persuade so great a part of mankind to abandon 
the religions of their fathers, and to embrace a 
new religion, which is opposed to the natural dis- 



20 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

positions of men." In the hands of these weak, 
but heaven-commissioned, and heaven-directed 
instruments, the gospel was the " power of God, 
and the wisdom of God unto salvation." They 
were no doubt much aided in exciting an interest, 
and making an impression upon the minds of men, 
and in stopping the mouths of gainsayers, by the 
miraculous powers with which they were endowed. 
Their general want of human learning was no 
doubt more than compensated by the extraordi- 
nary influences of the Holy Spirit which were 
afforded to them, and the gift of tongues by which 
they were enabled to speak languages which they 
had never learned. Their humble, devoted, blame- 
less lives too, would gain them credit and influ- 
ence. But nothing will account for the extraor- 
dinary spread of the gospel, opposing as it did, the 
passions, prejudices, and worldly interests of all 
men, but the supposition that it was accompanied 
by the mighty power of God. It was " mighty 
through God, to the pulling down of strong 
holds." 

IV. The organization of the church by the 
apostles, and during the first century, was most 
simple ; and seems to have been modelled after 
the form of the Jewish Synagogue. The officers 
were, 

1. Elders or Bishops, ivho laboured in word 
and doctrine. These were their public teachers 
— the pastors of churches, who led in their wor- 
shipping assemblies, and publicly instructed the 
people. Of these there were frequently several in 
the same church, especially the large churches 
collected in the principal cities. They seem to 
have stood upon a perfect parity or equality of 
office ; except that, for the sake of order, one was 



FIRST CENTURY. 21 

chosen president or moderator. This president 
was sometimes called the angel of the church, as 
a similar officer in the Jewish Synagogue was 
called angel or messenger. To this angel of each 
of the seven Asiatic churches, are the several 
epistles in the Revelation addressed. These 
bishops or pastors of churches were chosen by the 
people, on account of their wisdom, piety, and 
aptness to teach ; and were regularly set apart to 
their office by the " laying on of the hands of 
the Presbytery." We may suppose that they 
were generally supported by the people among 
whom they laboured ; according to the particular 
direction of Christ and his apostles on this 
head.* 

2. Elders who ruled — who assisted in the gov- 
ernment and discipline of the church ; but who did 
not engage in the business of public instruction. 
There was a similar class of officers in the Jewish 
Synagogues, called Rulers of the Synagogue. 
These lay elders might be properly regarded as 
the representatives of the people, and the guardians 
of their rights. Their business was to inspect the 
conduct of the members, to keep order in their 
public assemblies, and to assist the bishops in the 
proper administration of the ordinances and disci- 
pline of the church.+ 

3. Deacons, who were the public servants of 
the church, managed its secular concerns, 
and had particular oversight of the funds, and the 
charities of the church. 

The forms of worship in the first century, were 

* On the subject of this paragraph, consult Dr. Miller on the 
Christian Ministry. 

t See on this subject, Dr. Miller's Essay on the Nature, &c, 
of Ruling Elders. 



22 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

plain and simple. Their public assemblies were 
held on the first day of the week, commonly in 
private houses, or in some building appropriated 
to that purpose. There is no account of churches 
built and consecrated to the worship of God, sooner 
than about the beginning of the third century. 
These meetings, in time of persecution, were often 
after night, or before day in the morning. Here 
prayers were offered, the Scriptures read, short 
addresses made to the people by their public teach- 
ers, the Lord's supper was celebrated, accompanied 
with the singing of hymns ; and the whole was 
closed with free will offerings of money or provi- 
sions to their common stock, and the feast of cha- 
rity. This feast of charity seems to have been 
intended for the benefit of the poor. They who 
were wealthy, and could afford it, brought some- 
thing with them, on which they made a com- 
mon meal ; the poor, and strangers, who could 
bring nothing, being allowed a full share. Con- 
verts seem at first, to have been admitted to the 
communion of the church upon a simple profes- 
sion of their faith. 

V. Even in this first century, several errors 
made their appearance, and heresies began to 
spring up. A difference of opinion very early 
arose between the Jewish and gentile converts, 
about the necessity of an observance of the rules 
of the Mosaic law. This subject called together 
the first council or synod, which was held by the 
apostles at Jerusalem, and decided upon this 
question, as we read in the 15th chapter of Acts. 

When Jews were converted to Christianity, it 
was natural that they should still retain some 
leaning towards the opinions they had formerly 
entertained, and a partiality for their old ceremo- 



FIRST CENTURY. 23 

nies and institutions. These prejudices, which 
are natural to the human mind, would not fail to 
give to Christianity a peculiar model among Jew- 
ish converts, suitable to their particular views and 
feelings. A spice of the old leaven still retained, 
would leaven the new lump. This thing we find 
the apostles often labouring to correct ; and the 
whole epistle to the Hebrews seems mainly de- 
signed for this purpose. In like manner, when 
heathen converts were received into the church, 
it was natural they should bring with them some' 
taint of their old philosophy, and former super- 
stitions ; and some fondness for the rites and 
ceremonies of their idolatrous worship. Long 
established opinions are seldom entirely eradica- 
ted, and old habits, with which we have been 
brought up, are not likely to be totally renounced. 
Sometimes the teachers of religion were too indul- 
gent to those prejudices ; and in order that the 
gospel might be the less offensive, tolerated in 
their new converts, opinions and practices little 
consistent with it. An indulgent feeling of this 
sort was natural, and duly regulated, was very 
proper. Thus Paul was made " all things to all 
men, that by all means he might save some." 
But the principle was often carried too far. From 
these sources, therefore, we shall find, springing up 
many of the errors and heresies that deformed 
the beauty, and marred the peace of the church, 
during the first three or four centuries. Some of 
them were Jewish, but most of them of heathen 
origin ; and all proceeded from the same source, 
a fondness for old opinions, and practices, and a 
disposition to yield as far as possible to these 
Jewish and heathen prejudices, and thus in a good 
degree, to remove the offence of the cross. la- 



24 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

deed we shall find, that when Christianity became 
the established religion of the Roman Empire, and 
took the place of paganism, it assumed, in a great 
degree, the forms and rites of paganism, and par- 
ticipated in no small measure of its spirit also. 
Christianity as it existed in the dark ages, might 
be termed, without much impropriety of language^ 
baptized paganism. 

"At the head of all the sects," says Dr. Mos- 
heim, " which disturbed the peace of the church, 
stand the Gnostics. Under this appellation, are 
included all those in the first ages of the church, 
who modified the religion of Christ, by joining 
with it the Oriental philosophy, in regard to the 
source of evil, and the origin of this material uni- 
verse." They were divided into a number of 
particular sects or parties, but seem to have held 
the following errors in common. They taught 
that Jesus Christ is inferior to the Father ; that 
he did not possess a real body, and consequently 
did not really suffer ; that evil dwells essentially 
in matter ; and therefore they denied the future 
resurrection of the body, and enjoined severe bod- 
ily penances and mortifications, and held other 
notions of like character, derived from that false 
philosophy which they professed, and upon which 
they attempted to ingraft Christianity. 

The followers of Simon Magus are reckoned 
by some, among the Gnostic sects, which, in this 
century, corrupted the gospel. But, according to 
the best evidence we possess, Simon, after the 
memorable rebuke given him by the apostle, 
(Acts viii. 20 — 23,) became, not a corrupter, but 
a persevering enemy of Christianity. 

The Nicolaitans are generally supposed to 
have been a branch of the Gnostics, although this 



FIRST CENTURY. 25 

is uncertain. They rather appear to have been a 
class of Antinomians, who turned the grace of God 
into lasciviousness. The Docetae, a Gnostic sect, 
received their name from their distinguishing 
tenet, that Jesus had not a real, but only an ap- 
parent human body, and that consequently his 
sufferings on the cross were only in appearance. 
Cerinthus, who was cotemporary with John, the 
apostle, taught, on the contrary, that Jesus had a 
real body, and indeed was merely a man, the son 
of Joseph and Mary ; but that, at his baptism, the 
Christ, a being of superior nature, descended on 
him in the form of a dove, remained in him during 
his public ministry, and leaving him, when he was 
apprehended by the Jews, ascended again to hea- 
ven ; so that not Christ, but Jesus died. It is related 
by Irenseus, on the authority of Polycarp, who 
was acquainted with John, that this aged apostle 
once going into a bath at Ephesus, discovered 
Cerinthus there ; upon which, leaping out of the 
bath, he hastened away, saying, he was afraid 
lest the building should fall on him, and crush 
him along with the heretic. 

The Nazarenes and Ebionites were Judaizing 
Christians, that sprung up in the first century, but 
were not organized into distinct sects, until the 
second century. The Nazarenes differed little 
from the orthodox, except that they adhered to 
the rites of the Mosaic law. The Ebionites denied 
the Divinity of Christ, rejected the Jewish Scrip- 
tures, except the five books of Moses, and all of 
Paul's epistles. 

The writers of the first century are the apostles 

and apostolic fathers. At what time, and by whom 

the books of the New Testament were collected 

into one volume, is uncertain ; but it is certain 

3 



26 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

that before the middle of the second century, the 
most of them were read in every Christian church, 
and regarded as the divine rule of faith and prac- 
tice. The apostolic fathers are, Clement, bishop 
of Rome, and author of the Epistles to the Corin- 
thians ; Ignatius, disciple and companion of the 
apostles, who suffered martyrdom under Trajan, 
being exposed to wild beasts in the theatre at 
Rome ; Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, who suffered 
martyrdom at an extreme age, in the middle of 
the second century. Several works ascribed to 
these fathers, are known to be spurious ; others 
are doubtful ; and those, which are generally re- 
ceived as genuine, are not free from interpola- 
tions. 

L VI. From the very beginning, the church has 
been called to suffer persecution. This was first 
from the Jews, and about the time that Stephen 
was stoned to death, persecution seems to have 
raged very high ; so that the disciples were com- 
pelled to make their escape, and to flee into distant 
countries. After this, we are told (Acts xii. 1.) 
that " Herod the king stretched forth his hand to 
vex certain of the church." James he killed with 
the sword, and Peter he imprisoned. And this he 
did to gain favour with the Jews. But the Jewish 
power was then limited, and soon after destroyed, 
by the utter destruction of their city and temple 
by Titus, and the final dispersion of their nation. 
Nero was the first Roman emperor that persecu- 
ted the Christians ; and his cruelty was extreme. 
He falsely accused them of setting fire to the city 
of Rome, of which crime he was guilty himself. 
Multitudes were put to the most excruciating death 
in a variety of ways. The streets of the city, and 
his pleasure gardens, were illuminated at night by 



SECOND CENTURY. 27 

the burning of those whom he caused to be sewed 
up alive in garments covered over with pitch. 
This persecution commenced about A. D. 64, and 
raged until the death of Nero, about four years. 
Paul and Peter are said to have suffered martyr- 
dom at Rome during this persecution ; the one by 
decapitation, the other by crucifixion, with his 
head downwards. This manner he chose, as 
being less honourable than that in which his Lord 
had been crucified. The fury of this persecution 
subsided after the death of Nero, until it was re- 
newed, near the end of the century by Domitian ; 
a character little inferior to Nero for baseness and 
cruelty. Under this persecution the apostle John 
was banished to the isle of Patmos, where he 
wrote the Revelation. It has been said upon the 
authority of Tertullian, that he had been previously 
thrown into a caldron of boiling oil, and came out 
unhurt. But this is doubted. 



CENTURY II. 

1. Spread of the Gospel— 2. Persecution under the Roman 
Emperors. — 3. Rise of Monachism. — 4. Origin of the dis- 
tinction between Bishop and Presbyter. — 5. Fathers.— 6. Rites 
and Ceremonies. — 7. Heretics. 

I. The obscure lights of the early history of the 
church do not enable us to decide with certainty, 
what nations received Christianity during the 
second century ; but there are unexceptionable 
witnesses who inform us, that in the early part of 
this century, in nearly all the East, and among 



28 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 



the Germans, the Spaniards, the Celts, the Britons, 
and other nations, Christ was worshipped as God. 
About the middle of this century, Pothinus, Iren- 
aeus, and others went from Asia into Gaul, and 
established churches in Lyons and Vienne. Po- 
thinus was the first bishop of Lyons, and lrenreus 
succeeded him after his death, A. D. 177. About* 
this time Lucius, a king or nobleman of England, 
sent to Rome, or to Gaul, as some think more 
probable, for a supply of religious instructors. 
The rapid propagation of Christianity is ascribed 
by the writers of the second century, almost ex- 
clusively to the efficient will of God, the energy 
of divine truth, and the miracles wrought by 
Christians- The Scriptures were translated into 
various languages at an early period. The Italic, 
the Syriac, the Egyptian, and Ethiopic, are the 
most noted versions of this age ; but at what time 
they were severally made, is not ascertained. It 
seems to be established on undoubted authority, 
that the power of working miracles continued to 
some extent in the church during this century. 

II. The Roman Emperors of this century were 
Trajan, Adrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, 
Verus, Commodus, and Severus. The first four 
of these were remarkable for their gentle and 
equitable character ; yet the Christians suffered 
not a little under each of them. The celebrated 
letter of Pliny, governor of Bithynia, to Trajan, 
asking instruction how he should proceed in re- 
gard to the Christians, who had become very nu- 
merous, has been often published. Trajan directs 
that they should not be sought after : but when 
regularly accused and convicted, if they refused 
to return to the religion of their fathers, they 
should be put to death. The Pagan priests who 



SECOND CENTURY. 29 

saw their temples deserted, and their idolatrous 
worship falling into disrepute, stirred up the popu- 
lace at the seasons of the public shows and games, 
to demand of the governors of provinces, the de- 
struction of the Christians ; and these demands 
could not be disregarded without danger of insur- 
rection. To prevent this lawless procedure, 
Adrian passed an edict that they should not be 
put to death, unless accused in due form, and con- 
victed of some crime. In order to bring their 
case under that law, they were often accused of the 
most enormous crimes ; — such as impiety or athe- 
ism, because they refused to worship the gods of the 
heathen, — incest, infanticide, and even the eating 
of the flesh of murdered children. When Asia 
Minor was visited with earthquakes, in the reign of 
Antoninus Pius, the Christians were accused as 
the cause of bringing the wrath of the gods upon 
the land ; and under this charge, were treat- 
ed by the populace with great violence and out- 
rage. Under Marcus Aurelius, a little after the 
middle of this century, a severe persecution raged 
against the Christians, in which Polycarp and 
Justin Martyr suffered death. The charges 
brought against Christians called forth a number 
of apologies — among which are those of Justin 
Martyr, Athenagoras, Tatian, and Tertullian. By 
these, the base charges brought against the Chris- 
tians by their enemies were refuted. The letter 
of Pliny above referred to, bears honorable testi- 
mony to their peaceable inoffensive character. 

III. The doctrines of the church in the second 
century, were summed up in a few simple articles, 
expressed in what has since been called the Apos- 
tles* Creed, This creed was not composed by the 

apostles ; but it was in very early use. Its com- 
3* 



30 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

mon form, in general use in the fourth century, 
was as follows : " I believe in God the Father, 
almighty ; and in Christ Jesus, his only begotten 
Son, our Lord, who was born of the virgin Mary 
by the Holy Spirit, crucified under Pontius Pilate, 
buried, rose on the third day from the dead, as- 
cended to heaven, sits on the right hand of the 
Father, whence he will come to judge the living 
and the dead ; — and in the Holy Spirit ; the holy 
church ; the remission of sins ; the resurrection 
of the body." The Scriptures were regarded as 
the standard of faith and practice, and were con- 
stantly read and appealed to ; and as far as prac- 
ticable, were put into the hands of the people. 
There were some in this century who undertook 
to write comments on the Scriptures ; but their 
writings have not come down to our times. In 
this century, the monastic life began to be in some 
repute ; and they who secluded themselves from 
society, and spent their days in prayer, fasting, 
&c. were regarded as having attained a higher 
degree of sanctity. These notions grew out of the 
philosophy of the day, which taught that they 
who would be perfect, must mortify their bodily 
appetites, retire from the world, and spend their 
time in contemplation. In conformity with that 
same philosophy, which taught two codes of mor- 
ality, one for the higher, the other for the lower 
class of society, they began to make a like dis- 
tinction among the precepts of Christ, enjoining 
stricter rules of life upon those who aspired to 
be saints, than upon the common people. They 
that would attain to an eminent degree of holiness 
and communion with God were directed to ema- 
ciate their bodies by watching, toil and hunger, 
to abstain from wine, flesh, matrimony and world- 



SECOND CENTURY. 31 

ly business ; to spend much time in retirement, 
engaged in prayer, contemplation, and other reli- 
gious duties. Such were called ascetics, and re- 
garded as saints of a superior order. They dis- 
tinguished themselves by peculiarity of dress, but 
did not during this century, seclude themselves 
entirely from society, and form regular associa- 
tions, as they afterwards did. Pious frauds began 
to be practised at an early period. Both the Pla- 
tonic and Pythagorean philosophy taught that it 
was right and commendable to lie, and* to deceive, 
in order to promote a good end. The Jews living 
in Egypt had adopted this sentiment before the 
Christian era. From these sources it spread 
among Christians, and was the source of much 
evil in after ages. Books were forged under false 
names, in order to give them more interest and 
authority. Fictions were published for the truth, 
and books were altered and interpolated with the 
like good motive. But a good end can never jus- 
tify sinful means. 

IV. In the beginning of this and in the prece- 
ding century, the churches were all bound to- 
gether by a common faith and government. 
Hence, when a question arose about the necessity 
of Jewish observances, the question was not set- 
tled by the church of Antioch, where it arose, or 
by each congregation for itself; but the apostles 
and elders came together, as a synod, at Jerusa- 
lem, to consider and determine the matters, and 
sent down their decrees to all the churches to 
be observed. The bishops were now, as then, 
parochial, presiding over single churches. When 
there were several in the same church, as seems 
to have been commonly the case in the large 
towns, for the sake of order and convenience, 



32 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

and in conformity with the plan of the Jewish 
synagogue, one was chosen to preside, whose busi- 
ness it was, by common consent, to exercise a 
general supervision and control over the whole 
church. He, of course, would be chosen to this 
office who was superior in age, gravity, talents, 
&c. By degrees these senior presiding presby- 
ters, began to assume the exclusive title and pre- 
rogative of bishops, and to claim for themselves a 
superior grade of office and authority, especially in 
the more prominent cities. Here we find the origin 
of that distinction that regards bishops as a superi- 
or order of clergy, which was afterwards establish- 
ed, and is still maintained in several branches of 
the Christian church, but which has no foundation 
in the New Testament, where bishop and presby- 
ter are convertible terms, nor in the apostolic age, 
when there appears to have been a perfect parity 
of the gospel ministry. 

In the latter part of the second century, " it be- 
came customary," says Dr. Mosheim, " for all 
the Christian churches within the same province, 
to unite and form a sort of large society or com- 
monwealth ; and in the manner of confederate re- 
publics, to hold their conventions at stated times, 
and there deliberate for the common advantage of 
the whole confederation. These conventions of 
delegates from the several churches, assembled 
for deliberation, were called by the Greeks, Sy- 
nods, and by the Latins, Councils ; and the laws 
agreed upon in them, were called canons, that is 
rules. These councils gradually subverted the 
perfect equality and parity of all bishops which 
existed in the early times. For it was neces- 
sary that one of the confederate bishops of a 
province should be entrusted with some authority 



SECOND CENTURY. 33 

and power in those conventions, over the others. 
And hence originated the prerogatives of Metro- 
politans, so called because they occupied the 
chief city or metropolis, of that region over 
which each one presided. And, lastly, when the 
custom of holding these councils had extended 
over the Christian world, and the universal church 
had acquired the form of a vast republic, compos- 
ed of many lesser ones, certain head men were 
to be placed over it in different parts of the world, 
as central points in their respective "countries. 
Hence came the Patriarchs; and ultimately, a 
Prince of Patriarchs, the Roman Pontiff." 

This distinction amongst the ministers of the 
gospel was also promoted and confirmed by repre- 
senting them to be the successors of the Jewish 
priests, and that the church should assume the 
form of the temple service and organization, in- 
stead of those of the synagogue, according to 
which it had been first modelled. This began to 
be done soon after the reign of Adrian, upon the 
second destruction of Jerusalem, when the Jews 
lost all hope of seeing their commonwealth restor- 
ed. This idea may have been very innocently 
suggested at first, as being very plausible ; but it 
was afterwards abused to the introduction and 
sanction of many very pernicious errors. Bi- 
shops were now made to correspond with the 
chief priests ; presbyters with the priests ; and 
deacons with the Levites, among the Jews. Hence 
the term priests applied to the ministers of the 
gospel, altars in churches, sacrifices offered, as 
that of the mass in the Roman Catholic church, 
tithes, first fruits, clerical garments, &c. 

V. Among the fathers of this century who ren- 
dered themselves famous by their writings, was 



34 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

Justin Martyr, so called because he suffered mar- 
tyrdom. He was a converted philosopher, learn- 
ed and pious. His writings are numerous and 
erudite, but his style harsh, and his opinions some- 
times unsound. Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons in 
France. His writings that remain are five books 
against heretics. Athenagoras, an able and elo- 
quent writer. His Apology for the Christians, 
and his treatise on the resurrection, display both 
learning and genius. Theophilus, bishop of An- 
tioch, has left three books in defence of Christi- 
anity. Clemens Alexandrinus, a man of great 
reading, but his love of philosophy led him into 
great errors. Tertullian, a native of Carthage, 
and bred a lawyer. He possessed great genius, 
but it was wild and unchastened. His piety was 
active and fervent, but also gloomy and austere. 
It is difficult to say which were greater, his ex- 
cellencies or defects. 

VI. Rites and ceremonies began in this century 
to be considerably increased. This was done in 
order to conciliate the minds of Jews and Pagans 
to Christianity. " The Christians were pronounced 
atheists," says Dr. Mosheim, " because they 
were destitute of temples, altars, victims, priests, 
and all that pomp, in which the vulgar suppose 
the essence of religion to consist. For unenlight- 
ened persons are prone to estimate religion by 
what meets their eyes. To silence this accusa- 
tion, the Christian doctors thought they must in- 
troduce some external rites, which would strike 
the senses of people ; so that they could maintain, 
that they really had all those things of which 
Christians were charged with being destitute, 
though under different forms." The same author 
tells us that " many ceremonies took their rise 



SECOND CENTURY. 35 

from the custom of the Egyptians, and of almost 
all the eastern nations, of conveying instruction 
by images, actions, and sensible signs and em- 
blems. The Christian doctors, therefore, thought 
it would be advantageous to the cause of Christi- 
anity, to place the truths, which are necessary to 
be known in order to salvation, as it were, before 
the eyes of the multitude, who with difficulty con- 
template abstract truths." 

Meetings for public worship were held in pri- 
vate houses, caves, and places where the- dead 
were buried, on the first day of the week, (called 
in conformity with heathen custom, Sunday ,) and 
sometimes on the seventh, which was the Jewish 
Sabbath. These meetings were frequently after 
night, or before day in the morning. Their reli- 
gious exercises consisted in prayers, reading the 
Scriptures, short discourses on Christian duty, 
singing hymns, the Lord's supper, and love feasts. 
Justin Martyr gives the following account of their 
manner of worship : " On the day which is call- 
ed Sunday, all, whether dwelling in the towns or 
in the villages, hold meetings ; and the memoirs 
of the apostles, and the writings of the prophets 
are read, as much as the time will permit ; then, 
the reader closing, the President in a speech, ex- 
horts and excites to an imitation of those excellent 
examples ; then we all rise and pour forth united 
prayers; and when we close our prayer, as was 
before said, bread is brought forward, and wine 
and water ; and the President utters prayers and 
thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the 
people respond by saying amen ; and a distribu- 
tion and participation of the things blessed, takes 
place to each one present, and to those absent, it 
is sent by the deacons. And those who are pros- 



36 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

perous and willing, give what they choose, each 
according to his own pleasure ; and what is col- 
lected, is deposited with the President, and he 
carefully relieves the orphans and widows, and 
those who from sickness or other causes are 
needy, and also those in prison, and the strangers 
that are residing with us, and in short, all that 
have need of help. We all commonly hold our 
assemblies on Sunday, because it is the first day, 
on which God converted the darkness and matter, 
and framed the world ; and Jesus Christ our Sa- 
viour, on the same day, arose from the dead." 
Justin makes no mention here of singing as a part 
of the public worship of Christians. But Pliny in 
his epistle, assures us, " that they were accus- 
tomed to assemble on a certain day before light, 
and sing a hymn by turns among themselves to 
Christ as to God," and both the New Testament, 
and all antiquity, recognize singing, as part of 
Christian worship. 

That there were no public prescribed Liturgies 
now in use, is manifest. We never find the ex- 
pression, " reading prayers," which afterwards 
became current, used in this century, or for seve- 
ral subsequent centuries. On the contrary, offi- 
ciating ministers are said to pour out prayers 
" according to their ability" — " with their utmost 
strength" — to pray " from the heart" — and " with- 
out a monitor." They are represented as pray- 
ing with their hands lifted up, or stretched forth 
toward heaven ; — with " the eyes of their bodies 
closed, and the eyes of their minds lifted up to- 
ward heaven." These expressions preclude the 
possibility of prayers having been read from a 
prescribed form. 

Anniversary festivals were observed in this 



SECOND CENTURY. 37 

century, in memory of the Saviour's death and 
resurrection ; and of the descent of the Holy Spi- 
rit on the day of Pentecost. The former was 
called Pascha, the Passover, or, as we are ac- 
customed to term it, Easter. This name was de- 
rived from the Teutonic goddess Eostre, whose 
festival was annually celebrated by our Saxon 
ancestors in April, for which the first Roman 
missionaries, toward the close of the sixth centu- 
ry, substituted, as was their method then, the 
paschal feast. A dispute arose at an early period 
between the Eastern and Western churches about 
the time of celebrating Easter. The Asiatic 
churches kept it on the same day that the Jews 
kept their Passover, which was the fourteenth day. 
or full moon, of the first Jewish month, which 
might fall on any day of the week. The Latin 
churches kept Easter always on that Sunday 
which was the first after the same fourteenth day. 
or first full moon of the new year. The Jews be- 
gan their ecclesiastical year with the new moon 
of March. This difference in the time of holding 
Easter, was the cause of much contention between 
the East and West, until it was finally settled by 
the Council of Nice, in favour of the Latin mode, 
(A. D. 325.) The other festival, in commemora- 
tion of the descent of the Spirit, called the Pente- 
cost, received from our ancestors, many centuries 
after this, the name of Whitsunday or white Sun- 
day, because it was one of the stated times for the 
administration of baptism, when they who were 
baptized were clothed in white garments, in token 
of that spiritual purity they were believed to have 
obtained in baptism. 

In the celebration of the Lord's supper, the 
bread and wine were consecrated with certain 
4 



38 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

prayers uttered by the bishop of the congregation. 
The bread was broken into small pieces, and the 
wine mixed with water. Portions of the conse- 
crated elements were sent to the absent and the 
sick, in token of fraternal affection. " There is 
much evidence," says Dr. Mosheim, " that this 
most holy rite was regarded as necessary to the 
attainment of salvation : and I therefore dare not 
accuse of error, those who believe that the sacred 
supper was, in this century, given to infants." 

Baptism was performed at Easter and Whitsun- 
tide, the prevalent mode* of which was the im- 
mersion of the whole body in water in the name 
of the Trinity. Adults were required to repeat 
the Creed, to renounce all their sins, with the devil 
and his pomp. The baptized were signed with 
the cross, anointed, and commended to God by 
prayer and imposition of hands. They had milk 
and honey given them to eat, and were clothed 
in white garments. No other sponsors than parents 
were now known, nor for several centuries after- 
wards, if the parents were living, and professed to 
be Christians. If they were either dead, or deem- 
ed unqualified to offer their children in baptism, 
the children were presented for this ordinance by 
any who were willing to undertake their religious 
education. Baptism was called regeneration, and 
the sign began to be regarded as the thing sig- 
nified. 

VII. The heretics of this century were chiefly 
of two classes — Jewish converts who adhered to 
the rules and ceremonies of the Mosaic law ; and 
various tribes of Gnostics, who corrupted Christi- 



* See Wall's Hist, of Infant Baptism, Part II. chap. ix. page 
352, &c. 



SECOND CENTURY. 39 

anity by combining with it different systems of 
heathen philosophy. Of the first were the Naza- 
renes, who adhered to the rites of Moses ; and the 
Ebionites who not only adhered to the rites of 
Moses, but also to the traditions of the Elders, and 
also denied the Divinity of Christ. Of the Gnos- 
tics, were the followers of Marcion, Basilides, Va- 
lentinus, Tatian, &c. One Montanus pretended 
to be the Comforter, promised by Christ. He at- 
tempted no change in doctrine, but professed to 
be commissioned to perfect the moral system 
taught by Christ and his disciples. He prescrib- 
ed very rigid rules of life, forbade second marri- 
ages, refused to restore the lapsed, and discounte- 
nanced learning and philosophy. Among his fol- 
lowers were two very opulent ladies, Priscilla and 
Maximilla, who with others, uttered prophecies 
after the example of their master, whom they call- 
ed the Paraclete, or Comforter. This sect, which 
spread considerably, was advocated by Tertullian, 
a man of genius, but constitutionally austere and 
gloomy. 

At the end of the second century, within a little 
more than one hundred and fifty years after the 
first preaching of the gospel, it is obvious to re- 
mark the changes already introduced into the 
Christian church. Christianity began already to 
wear the garb of heathenism. The seeds of most 
of those errors that afterwards so entirely overran 
the church, marred its beauty, and tarnished its 
glory, were already beginning to take root. Min- 
isterial parity ', which had undoubtedly existed un- 
der the ministry of the apostles, was now begin- 
ning to yield to the encroachments of ambition, 
and that distinction of grades began to be estab- 
lished that ended in the Papal Hierarchy. That 



40 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

respect and sanctity began to be ascribed to exter- 
nal austerities, which in after ages overran the 
church with monachism. Ceremonies began to 
be added, which continued to increase, until, un- 
der papal authority, the whole of religion was 
made to consist of little else. But these things 
are easily accounted for, as they are congenial 
with the natural corruption, prejudices, and pro- 
pensities of the human heart. 



CENTURY III. 

1. Persecution under Deems — 2. Boundaries of the church 
extended. — 3, Learning. — 4. Increase of the power and au- 
thority of bishops.— 5. Writers. — 6. Theology corrupted — 
7. Ceremonies multiplied. — 8. Heresies. 

I. In this century, the church enjoyed more fa- 
vour and toleration in general from the Roman 
government than before ; and several of the em- 
perors even showed themselves friendly, so that 
they were supposed by some to have secretly em- 
braced the Christian faith. Many Christians 
were to be found holding high offices both in the 
court and in the army ; and under most of the 
emperors, no impediment lay in their way to the 
attainment of the highest public stations and hon- 
ours. Yet they were liable to suffer great trou- 
bles from popular tumults, often excited against 
them by pagan priests ; and also from magistrates 
and governors of provinces who were unfriendly 
to them, and whose avarice often led them to op- 
press the Christians in order to extort money from 



THIRD CENTURY. 41 

them. In this way, many suffered martyrdom, 
imprisonment, &c, under the most friendly of the 
emperors. But several of the emperors of this 
century published severe edicts against the Chris- 
tians. The most terrible was that of Decius, (A. 
D. 249) by which " the governors were command- 
ed, on pain of forfeiting their own lives, either to 
exterminate all Christians utterly, or bring them 
back by pains and tortures to the religion of their 
fathers." This persecution was more dreadful 
than any that preceded it, because it extended over 
the whole Roman empire, and because of the se- 
vere tortures and cruelty used to compel Chris- 
tians to apostatize, and offer incense to the heathen 
idols. Multitudes were cut off in every part of 
the empire by various species of punishment : and 
many, dismayed rather by a dread of long con- 
tinued tortures, than of death itself, professed to 
renounce Christ, and procured safety for them- 
selves, either by offering incense before the idols, 
or by the payment of money. Much dispute after- 
ward arose in the church, respecting the terms 
upon which these lapsed persons should be restor- 
ed to Christian fellowship. Some were for en- 
forcing the severe penance prescribed by the laws 
of the church, while others were for a milder 
treatment. This controversy issued- in the schism 
of the Novatians. Gallus, the successor of Deci- 
us, renewed the persecution in A. D. 251 ; and 
Valerian afterwards in A. D. 257. Under this 
last emperor, suffered Cyprian, bishop of Car- 
thage, Sixtus, bishop of Rome, and Laurentius, a 
deacon of Rome, who was roasted before a slow 
fire. 

II. The boundaries of the church were extend- 
ed in this century, but in what countries, to what 
4* 



42 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, 

extent, and by what means is not so certain. The 
Goths, a barbarous people, dwelling on the west 
of the Black Sea, were converted to Christianity 
by means of certain Christian ministers whom 
they had carried captive from Asia. Seven pious 
missionaries, whose names are recorded, migrated 
into France, about the middle of the century, and 
founded churches in Paris, Tours, Aries, and sev- 
eral other chief towns. In Germany, a number 
of churches were established, and Scotland, it is 
probable, received the gospel in this century. 
Miracles, although less common, were still per- 
formed, Mosheim tells us, by many Christians. 
The translation of the Scriptures into various lan- 
guages, and the labours of Origen in dissemina- 
ting copies of them, were doubtless a means of 
aiding the progress of Christianity. The influ- 
ence of the gospel in reforming the morals, and 
improving the character and condition of men, 
had much effect in the same way. The church 
never wielded a sharper weapon against its ene- 
mies than the holy lives of its members. 

III. Learning in this century, greatly declined. 
Longinus, the rhetorician, however, who is still 
read in our schools, and Dion Cassius, a fine his- 
torian, lived in this century. The school of Am- 
monius became very celebrated, who attempted to 
amalgamate Christianity with the old heathen 
systems of religion and philosophy. Christ was 
consorted with Pythagoras, Apollonius, and the 
like ; and their miracles and mighty w^orks were 
compared with his. The design of this school 
was, to combine all systems of religion and phi- 
losophy into one ; but they disagreed among them- 
selves. Porphyry distinguished himself in this 
school, as a very subtle opposer of Christianity 



THIRD CENTURY. 43 

Many doctors of the church, and particularly Ori- 
gen, were deeply tinctured with this kind of phi- 
losophy, and hence arose many of the errors and 
corruptions of the church. 

IV. The power and authority of bishops as a 
superior order of the clergy, were much advanced 
in this century ; but they did not as yet hold an 
independent rank. Cyprian himself, the boldest 
defender of episcopal power and authority, " did 
not presume to determine any question of moment 
by his own authority, or without the advice and 
consent of his presbyters, and was accustomed to 
take the sense of the whole church on subjects of 
peculiar interest." Yet episcopal pre-eminence 
was claimed : and in order to support such claim, 
new doctrines were taught, namely — that bishops 
are the successors of the apostles, and as such are 
amenable to none but God only — that the whole 
church is founded upon the bishop, and that no 
one is a true member, who is not submissive to his 
bishop — that bishops represent Christ himself, 
and govern and judge in his name. Hence, in fol- 
lowing ages, all bishops styled themselves vicars 
of Christ. 

" This change in the form of ecclesiastical gov- 
ernment was followed by a corrupt state of the 
clergy. For although examples of primitive piety 
and virtue were not wanting, yet many were ad- 
dicted to dissipation, arrogance, voluptuousness, 
contention, and other vices. Many bishops now 
affected the state of princes, and especially those 
who had charge of the more populous and wealthy 
congregations ; for they sat on thrones, surround- 
ed by their ministers, and other ensigns of their 
ghostly power, and perhaps also dazzled the eyes 
and the minds of the populace with their splendid 



44 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

attire. The presbyters imitated the example of 
their superiors, and neglecting the duties of their 
office, lived in indolence and pleasure. — This em- 
boldened the deacons to make encroachments upon 
the office and prerogatives of the presbyters." 
They were no longer willing to perform those 
meaner offices, to which they had once cheerfully 
submitted. This, together with the increase of 
ceremonies, made way for the introduction of new 
offices. Sub-deacons, door-keepers, readers, exor- 
cists, &c. were now added. These last named 
owed their origin to the doctrine of the new Pla- 
tonic school above mentioned, adopted by Chris- 
tians, " that evil spirits have a strong desire after 
the human body, and that vicious men are not so 
much impelled to sin by their natural depravity, 
and the influence of bad examples, as by the sug- 
gestions of some evil spirit, lodging within them." 

" Marriage was allowed to all the clergy, from 
the highest rank to the lowest. Yet those were 
counted more holy and excellent, who lived in celi- 
bacy. For it was the general persuasion, that 
those who lived in wedlock, were much more ex- 
posed to the assaults of evil spirits than others : 
and it was of immense importance that no impure 
or malignant spirit should assail the mind or the 
body of one who was to instruct and govern 
others. Such persons therefore wished, if pos- 
sible, to have nothing to do with conjugal life." 
And much corruption soon resulted from the adop- 
tion of such opinions, especially in the church in 
Africa. 

V. " Of the writers of this century, the most 
distinguished for the celebrity of his name and for 
the extent of his writings, was Origen, a presby- 
ter, and catechist of Alexandria, a man truly great. 



THIRD CENTURY. 45 

and a luminary to the Christian world. Had his 
discernment, and the soundness of his judgment 
been equal to his genius, his piety, his industry, 
his erudition, and his other accomplishments, he 
would deserve almost unbounded commendation. 
He published the first Polyglot Bible, called his 
Hexapla. He stood at the head of the interpre- 
ters of Scripture of that day ; but unfortunately 
he philosophized too much, and preferred the alle- 
gorical and mystical sense of Scripture, to the lite- 
ral. " He taught that the words, in many parts 
of the Bible, convey no meaning at all, and in 
some places, where he acknowledged there was 
some meaning in the words, he maintained that 
under the things there expressed, there was con- 
tained a hidden and concealed sense, which was 
much to be preferred to the literal meaning of the 
words." This concealed sense he divided into the 
moral and the mystical ; and these he preferred 
and sought after, to the utter neglect and con- 
tempt, frequently, of the literal meaning of the 
words. 

Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, was the most 
distinguished writer among the Latins. " The 
epistles and tracts of this distinguished and elo- 
quent man, breathe such a spirit of ardent piety, 
that almost no one can read them without feeling 
his soul stirred within him. Yet Cyprian would 
doubtless have been a better writer, if he had been 
less studious of rhetorical ornaments ; and a better 
bishop, if he had been more capable of controlling 
his temper, and of discriminating between truth 
and error." He was indefatigable and efficient in 
his episcopal office, preached and wrote incessant- 
ly, and accomplished more in ten years, than most 
men in a long life. He possessed great intrepidi- 



46 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

ty of character, was a severe disciplinarian, and 
entertained high ideas of episcopal power and pre- 
rogative. He has therefore always been a fa- 
vourite with those who have held to the superi- 
ority of bishops. Other writers of this century 
were, Julius Africanus, Hippolytus, Gregory^ 
Dionysius the Great, Methodius, Minucius Fe- 
lix, &c. 

VI. The theology of this century was adultera- 
ted with the doctrines of the New Platonic Phi- 
losophy. Origen, who was a great admirer of this 
philosophy, employed it in explaining the doctrines 
of the gospel ; and this led him to the allegorical 
method of interpreting the Scriptures, in which 
he had many admirers and followers. The 7)iys~ 
tic theology also had its rise toward the latter end 
of this century, but its authors are unknown. It 
arose from the same source of error, the Platonic 
Philosophy. They who embraced it, taught that 
" reason in us is an emanation from God himself, 
and comprehends the elements or first principles 
of truths, human and divine. Yet they denied 
that men, by their own efforts and care, can excite 
this divine spark within them ; and therefore they 
disapproved of the endeavours of men to gain 
clear perceptions of latent truths by means of de- 
finitions, discrimination, and reflection. On the 
contrary they maintained that silence, inaction, 
solitude, repose, the avoidance of all active scenes, 
and the mortification and subjugation of the body, 
tended to excite this internal reason to put forth 
its hidden energies, and thus to instruct men in 
divine things." Such views as these induced 
many to retire into the deserts, and emaciate their 
bodies by fasting and hardships, that so they might 
excite the divine word within them. 



THIRD CENTURY. 47 

Among the controversies that divided Christians 
in this century the most considerable were, con- 
corning the millennium, the baptism of heretics, 
and concerning Origen. By some it was main- 
tained that Christ would come and dwell on the 
earth a thousand years, during which period the 
saints should enjoy all the delights of a terrestrial 
paradise ; understanding Rev. xx. 1 — 6 and simi- 
lar passages, in a literal sense. Origen success- 
fully opposed this doctrine. The controversy 
about baptism respected the validity of it when 
performed by heretics. Some held that baptism 
in such a case was invalid, and should be repeated ; 
others denied that it should ever be repeated. 
Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, and Stephen, bishop 
of Rome, seem to have been at the head of this 
controversy. The contests concerning Origen 
were moved by Demetrius, bishop of Alexandria, 
who was probably influenced by envy and hatred 
more than any thing else. He accused Origen 
in his absence, before an assembled council, and 
divested him of his ministerial character. 

VII. In this century, ceremonies were greatly 
increased. Public preaching began to assume a 
more regular form, in houses appropriated to the 
worship of God. Longer prayers were made, and 
more ceremony used, in the administration of the 
Lord's supper. It was believed by all to be abso- 
lutely necessary to salvation ; and therefore they 
universally desired infants to be partakers of it. 
Baptism was publicly administered, twice a year, 
to candidates who had gone through a long pre- 
paration and trial, none being present as specta- 
tors, but such as had been themselves baptized. 
This rite was supposed to secure the remission of 
sins ; and the imposition of the bishop's hands, to 



48 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

confer the gifts of the Holy Spirit necessary for 
living a holy life. None were admitted to bap- 
tism, before they were exorcised, and declared to 
be free from the servitude of the devil. The per- 
sons baptized returned home, decorated with a 
crown and a white robe ; the first being indicative 
of their victory over the world and their lusts, and 
the latter of their acquired innocence. Greater 
sanctity and necessity were now attributed to 
fasting than was done before, because it was the 
general belief that demons laid fewer snares for the 
abstemious, and those that fared hard, than for the 
full fed, and such as lived generously. There 
were no Liturgies yet prescribed by the church. 
Public prayers were conducted according to the 
discretion of each pastor. Some composed pray- 
ers for their own use ; and some of the more 
eminent, for the use of their less accomplished 
neighbours. The fact is, that, as piety declined, 
and as pastors became less and less able to pray 
extemporaneously to acceptance, they availed 
themselves of such helps as they could obtain. 
But forms were not generally, and far less exclu- 
sively, used now, or for several hundred years 
afterwards. There was supposed to be great 
efficacy in the sign of the cross, against all sorts 
of evils, but especially against evil spirits : they 
were careful therefore to cross themselves when 
about to undertake any important business. The 
burning of incense was introduced into many 
churches. The Christians originally abhorred the 
use of incense in public worship, as being a part 
of the worship of idols. Its use was first permit- 
ted at funerals, against offensive smells. After- 
wards it was used at the induction of magistrates 



THIRD CENTURY. 49 

and bishops, and also in public worship, to temper 
the bad air of crowded assemblies in hot countries, 
and at last degenerated into a superstitious rite. 

VIII. Among the heretics that sprung up in this 
century, were the Manichea?is, the followers of 
Manes, a Persian by birth, and one of their Magi 
before his conversion to Christianity. He pro- 
fessed to be the paraclete, or Comforter, that 
Christ promised to send, and had therefore author- 
ity to develope more fully the system which he 
had left incomplete. The doctrine of Manes was 
a motley mixture of the tenets of Christianity 
with the ancient philosophy of the Persians. He 
combined these two systems, and applied and ac- 
commodated to Jesus Christ, the characters and 
actions which the Persians attributed to the god 
Mithras. He rejected the whole of the Old Tes- 
tament, and many parts of the New, and published 
a gospel of his own. His rules of life were very 
severe. He directed his disciples that would be 
perfect, to abstain from flesh, eggs, milk, fish, 
wine, all intoxicating drink, wedlock, and all 
amorous gratifications ; and to live in a state of 
the severest penury, nourishing their emaciated 
bodies with bread, herbs, pulse, and melons, to 
abstain from active life, and be divested both of 
love and hatred. 

The Sabellians, the followers of Sabellius an 
African bishop. He denied a Trinity of persons 
in the Godhead, and held that Father, Son, and 
Holy Ghost were three titles or functions of the 
same person. 

The PaulianSy disciples of Paul of Samosata. 

" He taught that the Son and Holy Spirit exist in 

God, just as reason and the operative power, do 

in man ; that Christ was born a mere man ; but 

5 



50 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

that the wisdom or reason (Aoyo?) of the Father 
descended into him, and enabled him to teach and 
work miracles ; that on account of this union of 
the divine word (Aoyo?) with the man Christ, we 
might say, Christ was God, though not in the 
proper sense of the word." He may be consid- 
ered as the father of the modern Socinians ; and 
his errors were severely condemned by the Coun- 
cil of Nice. 

The Nbvatians, called also Cathari, that is, 
pure. They refused to restore persons to the 
communion of the church who had fallen into any 
great sin after baptism ; because they held that 
baptism was the only means in the hands of the 
church of remitting sins, which being once per- 
formed, could not be repeated. Properly speak- 
ing, the Novatians were, in the modern accepta- 
tion of the term, schismatics rather than heretics. 



CENTURY IY. 

1. Persecution under Diocletian. — 2. Constantine. — 3. Julian 
the apostate. — 4. Learning. — 5. The church corrupted by its 
connexion with the State. — 6. Writers. — 7. Corruptions in 
Doctrine.— 8. Controversies- — 9. Ceremonies. — 10. Donatists. 
— 11. Arian heresy. 

I. At the beginning of this century, the church 
enjoyed peace ; but it was soon broken by a ten 
years' persecution under Diocletian and his son-in- 
law, Galerius Maximianus, excited and carried 
on chiefly by the latter. This persecution was 
most severe and cruel. Houses filled with Christ- 



FOURTH CENTURY. 51 

ians were set on fire, and numbers, tied hand and 
foot, or with weights affixed to them, were cast 
into the sea. In Phrygia, a whole city with all its 
inhabitants, was burnt to ashes, because not an 
individual in it would offer sacrifice to the heathen 
idols. It is related that 17,000 were slain in one 
month's time, and that during the continuance of 
this persecution, in the province of Egypt alone, 
no less than 144,000 Christians died by the vio- 
lence of their persecutors ; besides 700,000 that 
died through the fatigues of banishment, or the 
public works to which they were condemned. 
This persecution was brought to an end by the 
death of Galerius Maximianus ; or rather by an 
edict which he published while labouring under a 
terrific and lingering disease, of which he soon 
after died. 

II. Some years previous to the death of Gale- 
rius, Constantine, afterwards called the Great, had 
succeeded, on the death of his father, to the empire 
of the West. His sagacity enabled him to dis- 
cover that it was the best policy to protect the 
Christians ; in this, his colleague Maxentius im- 
itated him, and while persecutions raged in the 
eastern provinces of the empire, the church, 
throughout the provinces of Africa, Italy, Spain, 
Gaul, and Britain, enjoyed a season of repose. 
Constantine, urged sometimes by necessity, and 
oftener by ambition, commenced in A. D. 312, 
and carried on, with some intervals, a series of 
wars with the other emperors, which, in A. D. 
324, terminated in his remaining the sole occu- 
pant of the imperial throne. Inclined from the 
first to give equal protection to the Christians with 
his other subjects, he afterwards favoured them, 
and finished by establishing their religion as that 



52 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

of the Roman Empire. In this manner, he was 
the instrument of Providence in delivering the 
church from the grievous persecutions, which, 
hitherto the superstition, prejudices, and malice of 
heathen priests and magistrates had excited ; and 
in so completely overturning the pagan system, 
that it could never afterwards recover from the 
shock, or succeed in re-assuming its former posi- 
tion and influence. How far Constantine himself 
experienced the power of that religion which he 
favoured, cannot now be known satisfactorily. 
He rather appears to have regarded Christianity 
with the eye of a statesman, than of a disciple ; 
and the story of his conversion, from having seen 
a vision of a cross, on the eve of his victory over 
Maxentius, admits of serious doubt.* The three 
sons of Constantine the Great, namely, Constan- 
tine II., Constantius, and Constans, succeeded 
him in the empire ; and they continued, as he had 
done, to promote the Christian religion. They 
even used coercive measures, which of course 
only made nominal Christians. A law was en- 
acted in the year 342, that all the heathen temples 
should be shut up, and that no person should be 
allowed to go near them. All sacrifices, and all 
consultations of the oracles and soothsayers, were 
prohibited, on pain of death, and confiscation of 
property. Constantine the Great had allowed to 
the clergy, the former privileges of the pagan 
priests ; and permitted legacies to be left to the 
churches, which were every where erected and 
enlarged. He was gratified with seeing the 
bishops assume great state ; for he thought the 
more respect the bishops commanded, the more 
inclined the pagans would be to embrace Christ- 



FOURTH CENTURY. 



53 



ianity : and thus he introduced the love of pomp 
and display among the clergy. 

III. But things assumed a very different face 
after Julian, commonly called the Apostate, ob- 
tained possession of the whole Roman empire, A. 
D. 361. He was educated in the Christian reli- 
gion, but apostatized to paganism ; and the princi- 
pal object which he had in view during his short 
reign seems to have been, to destroy Christianity, 
and to reinstate heathen idolatry in all its former 
glory. And this he attempted to do, not so much 
by direct measures, (for he affected the character 
of great moderation and liberality,) as by man- 
agement and artifice. He endeavoured to reform 
the pagan idolatry, by introducing improvements 
in it derived from the Christian worship. He pro- 
moted the divisions among Christians, and took 
sides with heretics. He deprived the clergy of 
many privileges which they had enjoyed, and com- 
pelled them to perform military duty. He shut up 
the Christian schools, in which philosophy and the 
liberal arts were taught. He wrote books against 
the Christians, in which he employed the power 
of ridicule. He showed much partiality to the 
Jews, and allowed them to rebuild the temple at 
Jerusalem in order to confute and falsify the pre- 
dictions of Scripture. This the Jews attempted, 
but were obliged to desist, before even the founda- 
tions were laid. For balls of fire issued from the 
ground, accompanied with a great explosion and a 
tremendous earthquake, which dispersed both the 
materials that were collected, and the workmen. 
The truth of this fact seems to be fully attested, 
although some have called it in question. By these 
means, had the life of this apostate emperor been 
5* 



54 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

spared, it is probable that paganism would have 
soon been restored in all its glory. But before the 
end of two years, he was cut off by a wound re- 
ceived in battle, in an expedition he had under- 
taken against Persia. The remaining emperors 
of this century were friendly to Christianity, and 
did much to exterminate paganism, especially 
Tkeodosiiis the Great, so that by the end of the 
century, it had fallen into general neglect, and 
contempt. 

The Christians were severely persecuted in 
Persia, in this century, through the influence of 
the Magi, and of the Jews, who represented them 
to the king as enemies, and traitors against the 
government. The gospel was extended among 
the Abyssinians, the Armenians, the Goths, &c., 
but it is to be supposed that much of the primitive 
apostolic zeal and activity to propagate the gospel 
had now subsided. Most of the miracles of this 
century are of a doubtful character. Things were 
often regarded as miraculous, that were only extra- 
ordinary. Christianity had now become popular, 
and a large proportion, perhaps a large majority, 
of those who embraced it, only assumed the name, 
received the rite of baptism, and conformed to 
some of the external ceremonies of the church, 
while at heart, and in moral character, they were 
as much heathens as they were before. Error 
and corruption now came in upon the church like 
a flood. 

IV. The predominant 'philosophy of this centu- 
ry was what is called Modem Platonism. This 
system, while it gave the highest praise to Plato, 
yet taught that the great principles of all philoso- 
phical and religious truth were to be found equally 
in all sects, and that they differed from each other 



FOURTH CENTURY. 55 

only in their method of expressing them ; and that 
by a proper interpretation of their respective sen- 
timents, they might easily be united in one body. 
It is easy to see how much this philosophy, into 
which many doctors of the church drank pretty 
deeply, was calculated to encourage the amalga- 
mation of heathen notions and practices with 
Christianity. From the time of Constantine the 
Great, Christians devoted much more attention to 
the study of philosophy and the liberal arts, than 
they had done before ; and the emperors omitted 
no means that might awaken and cherish a thirst 
for learning. Schools were established in many 
of the towns ; libraries were formed, and literary 
men were encouraged by stipends, by privileges, 
and by honours. This was done in order that 
Christian teachers might be able to cope with their 
heathen adversaries. Still there were many, both 
bishops and presbyters who were entirely desti- 
tute of all science and learning. And there was 
a considerable party also opposed to all learning, 
especially philosophical learning, as destructive 
of true piety. All the ascetics* monks, and ere- 
mites, were inclined to this party ; and all those 
who estimated piety by the sanctity of the counte- 
nance, the sordidness of the dress, and the love 
of solitude. And of the latter class there were 
not a few. 

V. Under Constantine the Great, the church 
first became connected with the state, and in its 
government was accommodated to such connexion, 

* Ascetic signifies a person who subjects himself to severe 
religious exercises, such as fasting, walking on his bare knees, 
wearing sackcloth, &c. Monk means one who secludes him- 
self from the temporal concerns of life, and devotes himself to 
religion. Eremite or hermit signifies one who retires from the 
abodes of man to spend his days in some solitary desert. 



56 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

upon principles of state policy. The emperor 
placed himself at the head of the church, usurped 
supreme power over it, and claimed the right of 
modelling and controlling it in such manner as 
would best subserve the public good. And so de- 
lighted, no doubt, were the bishops with the idea 
of having the emperor at the head of the church, 
and of being entirely released from the troubles 
and persecutions which they had suffered under 
heathen emperors, that there was not found one 
disposed to question his right to exercise this most 
unscripturai usurpation. " My kingdom," says 
Christ, " is not of this world ;" and the touch of 
the state, has never failed to contaminate the 
church. So it was now. The rank which bish- 
ops began to claim in the preceding century, as a 
superior order of clergy, became now, by the en- 
couragement of their emperor, firmly established, 
and presbyters were excluded from any participa- 
tion in their councils. " The former rights of 
the presbyters and of the people were engross- 
ed chiefly by the bishops, while those of the 
whole church, were transferred to the emperors 
or to their provincial governors and magistrates ; 
so that by the close of this century, only the 
shadow of the ancient form of church government 
remained. The first oecumenical or general coun- 
cil was called by the order of Constantine, which 
met at Nice, a town of Asia Minor, in the year 
325. It was judged proper that causes of great 
importance, and affecting the church universally, 
or the general principles of Christianity, should 
be judged and settled by a convocation of the 
whole church. There never was a general coun- 
cil, properly so called, in which the whole church 



FOURTH CENTURY. 57 

was represented, although the Papists reckon 
eighteen of them. 

Jn accommodating the ecclesiastical administra- 
tion to that of the state, it became necessary that 
new grades of honour and pre-eminence should 
be introduced among the bishops. " The princes 
among the bishops were those who had before 
held a pre-eminent rank, namely, the bishops of 
Rome, Antioch, and Alexandria ; with whom the 
bishop of Constantinople was joined after the im- 
perial residence was transferred to that city. 
These four prelates answered to the four prcetorU 
an prefects, created by Constantine ; and, perhaps, 
even in this century, bore the Jewish title of Pa- 
triarchs. Next to these were the exarchs, corres- 
ponding with the civil exarchs, and presiding each 
over several provinces. The metropolitans came 
next, who governed only single provinces. After 
them ranked the archbishops who had the inspec- 
tion only of certain districts of country. The 
bishops brought up the rear, whose territories were 
not in all countries of the same extent." The 
administration of ecclesiastical affairs, Constantine 
divided into internal and external. The former, 
relating to the doctrines of religion, forms of wor- 
ship, functions of the priests, &c, he left to the 
bishops and councils. The latter relating to the 
external condition of the church, its discipline, the 
rank, honours, and emoluments of its officers, &c. 
he took upon himself. Hence he and his succes- 
sors assembled councils and presided in them, as- 
signed judges for religious disputes, decided dis- 
putes between bishops and their people, determined 
the limits of episcopal sees, &c. 

" The first among the bishops, in respect to 
rank and dignity, was the bishop of Rome. And 



58 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

this pre-eminence was not founded solely on pop- 
ular feeling and prejudice of long standing, and 
which various causes had given rise to ; but also 
on those grounds, that commonly give priority 
and greatness in the estimation of mortals. For 
he exceeded all other bishops, in the amplitude of 
the church over which he presided, in the magni- 
tude of his revenues and possessions, in the num- 
ber of his assistants or ministers of various de- 
scriptions, in the weight of his influence with the 
people at large, and in the sumptuousness and 
magnificence of his style of living. These indi- 
cations of power and worldly greatness were so 
fascinating to the minds of Christians even in this 
age, that often most obstinate and bloody contests 
took place at Rome, when a new pontiff was to 
be created by the suffrages of the priests and peo- 
ple." Yet it is abundantly testified that the bishops 
of Rome did not, in this age, possess supreme 
power and jurisdiction in the church. They were 
citizens of the commonwealth, and obeyed the 
laws and mandates of the emperor, as other citi- 
zens. No one of the bishops acknowledged that 
he derived his authority from the plenary power 
and authority of the bishop of Rome ; but all main- 
tained that they were the ambassadors and minis- 
ters of Jesus Christ, and that their authority was 
derived from above. When the seat of empire 
was removed from Rome to Constantinople, and 
that see raised to patriarchal dignity, the bishop 
of Constantinople began to emulate the power and 
prerogatives of the bishop of Rome. In a council 
assembled at Constantinople, in 381 by Theodo- 
sius the Great, it was decreed that the bishop of 
Constantinople should be next to the bishop of 
Rome. This gave great offence to the bishop of 



FOUKTH CENTURY. 59 

Alexandria, and afterwards gave rise to those un- 
happy contests between the pontiffs of old and 
new Rome, that were protracted through several 
centuries, and finally produced a separation be- 
tween the Latin and Greek churches, which exists 
to this day. 

VI. Among the writers of this century, are 
Eusebius, bishop of Csesarea in Palestine ; a man 
of great reading and erudition, and who acquired 
immortal fame by his labours in ecclesiastical his- 
tory — Athanasius bishop of Alexandria, famous 
as opposer of Arius, and who, although not the 
author, has unconsciously furnished a name for 
the Athanasian Creed — John, surnamed Chrysos- 
tom. " For overpowering popular eloquence 
Chrysostom had no equal among the fathers." He 
was a while patriarch of Constantinople ; but his 
preaching and discipline were too strict for that 
corrupt metropolis. The empress, therefore, the 
lax clergy, and many of the courtiers conspiring 
against him, upon the ground of many false or 
frivolous charges, he was finally expelled, and died 
soon afterwards. The spirit of the man, and his 
style of writing may be seen from the following 
extract of a letter written to a friend during his 
exile. " When driven from the city, I cared no- 
thing for it. But I said to myself, if the empress 
wishes to banish me, let her banish me : the earth 
is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof. If she 
would saw me in sunder, let her saw me in sun- 
der ; I have Isaiah for a pattern. If she would 
plunge me in the sea, I remember Jonah. If she 
would thrust me into the fiery furnace, I see the 
three children enduring that. If she would cast 
me to the wild beasts, I call to mind Daniel in the 
den of lions. If she would stone me, let her 



60 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

stone me ; I have before me Stephen, the proto- 
martyr. If she would take my head from me, let 
her take it ; I have John the Baptist. If she 
would deprive me of my worldly goods, let her do 
it ; naked came I from my mother's womb, and 
naked shall I return. An apostle has told me, 
" God respecteth no man's person ;" and " if 1 
pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ." 
And David clothes me with armour, saying, " I 
will speak of thy testimony before kings, and will 
not be ashamed." Other authors of this date 
were Basil the Great, bishop of the Cappadocian 
Csesarea; Cyril, of Jerusalem ; Epiphanius of Sa- 
lamina ; the two Gregories, of Nazianzus, and of 
Nyssa ; Ephrem the Syrian ; Hilary, bishop of 
Poictiers, author of twelve books on the Trinity ; 
Lactantius, the most eloquent among the Latins ; 
Ambrose, bishop of Milan ; Hieronymus, common- 
ly called Jerome, a monk of Palestine ; and Au- 
gustine, commonly called St. Austin, bishop of 
Hippo, in Africa. In early life, Augustine was 
idle, vicious, and dissipated. He ascribed his con- 
version at last, to the early impressions made upon 
his mind by a very pious mother. He distinguish- 
ed himself in the following century, by his suc- 
cessful opposition to the Pelagian Heresy. 

VII. The Theology of this century began to be 
much adulterated and corrupted with superstition 
and heathen philosophy. Hence are to be seen 
evident traces of excessive veneration for departed 
saints, of a belief in a state objurgatory for souls 
after death, of the celibacy of the clergy, of the 
worship of images and relics, and of many other 
opinions, which in process of time almost ban- 
ished the true religion, or at least very much ob- 
scured and corrupted it. At first pilgrimages 



FOURTH CENTURY. 61 

were made to the holy land, and to the tombs of 
the martyrs, as though holiness were to be obtained 
there ; and afterwards portions of earth were 
brought from those venerated places, which were 
regarded as a most powerful protection against the 
assaults of evil spirits, and were bought and sold 
at great prices. The same regard was paid, and 
efficacy ascribed, to their temples, to water conse- 
crated in due form, and to the images of holy men, 
that the heathen had paid to their temples, statues, 
and lustrations, long before. Images, however, 
were as yet but rare, and statues did not exist. 
The same worship began now to be paid to the 
martyrs, which the pagans had paid to their gods, 
which were only deified men. From these speci- 
mens, we may readily imagine how much injury 
resulted to Christianity from the peace and pros- 
perity procured by Constantine, and from an in- 
discreet eagerness to allure the pagans to embrace 
this religion by conforming to their rites and su- 
perstitions. Indeed almost every error, either in 
doctrine or in form, may be traced to this source; 
its prototype may be found either in heathen phi- 
losophy, or in the rites of pagan worship. 

Pious frauds were now very common, and the 
doctrine almost publicly adopted, at least notori- 
ously acted upon, that to deceive and lie, when 
religion can be promoted by it, is a virtue. " Ru- 
mours were artfully disseminated of prodigies and 
wonders to be seen in certain edifices and places, 
(a trick before this time practised by pagan priests,) 
whereby the infatuated populace were drawn to- 
gether, and the stupidity and ignorance of those 
who looked upon every thing new and unusual as 
a miracle, were often wretchedly imposed upon. 
Graves of saints and martyrs were supposed to be 
6 



62 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

where they were not ; the list of saints was en 
riched with fictitious names ; and even robbers 
were converted into martyrs. Some buried blood- 
stained bones in retired places, and then gave out 
that they had been informed in a dream, that the 
corpse of some friend of God was there interred. 
Many, especially of the monks, travelled through 
the different provinces, and not only shamelessly 
carried on a traffic in fictitious relics, but also de- 
ceived the eyes of the multitude with ludicrous 
combats with evil spirits. It would require a vol- 
ume to detail the various impositions which were, 
for the most part, successfully practised by artful 
knaves, after genuine piety and true religion were 
compelled to resign their dominion in a great mea- 
sure to superstition." 

Many laboured earnestly in interpreting the 
sacred volume, but few successfully. Most of the 
interpreters of this age followed Origen, in search- 
ing for mysteries and allegories in the Scriptures. 
Gregory Nazianzen among the Greeks, and Au- 
gustine among the Latins, who were regarded in 
the subsequent ages as the only patterns worthy 
of imitation, may be fitly styled, next to Origen, 
the parents or supporters of philosophical or scho- 
lastic theology. Another set of theologians were 
the mystics^ who daily increased in numbers, and 
who supposed the knowledge of divine things was 
to be acquired, not by reasoning about them, but 
by contemplation, and by recalling the mind from 
its converse with external objects to a concentra- 
tion on itself. The controvertists of this age, in 
their discussions, resorted to new sources of proof. 
The truth of doctrines was proved by the number 
of martyrs that had believed so, by prodigies, and 
by the confessions of devils, that is, of persons in 



FOURTH CENTURY. 63 

whose bodies some demon was supposed to reside. 
The doctrine that has so disgraced the church in 
after ages, and stained her garments with the blood 
of thousands, was approved and practised upon in 
this century ; namely, that errors in religion, when 
maintained and adhered to after proper admonition, 
ought to be visited with penalties and punishments. 
This doctrine had its source in the natural cor- 
ruption of the human heart. When a religious 
system is adopted and upheld by pride and selfish- 
ness, backed with power, the result will be the 
oppression and persecution of dissentients. Hence, 
the pagans, while in power, persecuted the Chris- 
tians ; and when it had become an established 
practice to interfere, in this manner, with liberty 
of conscience, it ought not to surprise us, to find 
men with the name, but without the spirit of real 
Christians, pursuing the same course, and even 
men of undoubted piety joining with them. There 
are few, comparatively, that can see clearly through 
the mist which the general custom and ruling spi- 
rit of the age gather round them. The doctrine 
in question, however, and its corresponding prac- 
tice, are diametrically opposed to the gospel of 
Christ. " Who art thou, that judgest another 
man's servant ? To his own master he standeth, 
or falleth." 

Monks who professed to aim at a higher degree 
of holiness than others, were greatly increased in 
'this century. Anthony was the first who collected 
them into a community in Egypt, and regulated 
their mode of living by fixed rules. His example 
was followed by others in Palestine, Syria, and 
Mesopotamia, so " that in a short time all the East 
swarmed with persons who, abandoning the occu- 
pations and conveniences of life, and all inter- 



64 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

course with society, pined away amidst various 
hardships, hunger and sufferings, in order to attain 
to a more close communion with God and the an- 
gels." This spirit also soon passed into the West, 
and prevailed first in Italy and the adjacent islands. 
Martin, bishop of Tours, first erected monasteries 
in Gaul, and so popular was he with the order,* 
that it is said two thousand monks assembled at 
his funeral. From thence this manner of life 
spread through all the countries of Europe. But 
the austerity of the eastern monks was said to be 
much greater than that of the western ; for neither 
the climate, nor the bodily constitution and habits 
of the people in western Europe, were compatible 
with the rigid abstemiousness of the eastern asce- 
tics. 

VIII. This age was fruitful in controversies 
amongst Christians, which is usually the case in 
a state of external prosperity, when the church 
partakes largely of the spirit of the world. In 
proportion as religion becomes low, angry con- 
tention and dispute about it, rise high. The Me- 
letian controversy, which at first was little more 
than a personal quarrel between Peter, bishop of 
Alexandria, and Meletius, bishop of Lycopolis, a 
town of upper Egypt, was widened and aggravated 
by heated passions, until it embraced an impor- 
tant article of faith, viz. the sameness in substance, 
and equality in perfections and glory, of the di- 
vine persons, and produced a schism that existed 
in the following century. The Eustathian sect, 
so called from Eustathius, bishop of Sebaste in 
Armenia, its founder, are said to have condemned 
matrimony, and even receiving the holy supper 
at the hands of a married priest, upon pain of 
forfeiting salvation. They forbade eating flesh, 



FOURTH CENTURY. 65 

contemned the buildings erected for public wor- 
ship, and held their meetings in private. They 
allowed a woman to forsake her husband, parents 
their children, children their parents, and servants 
their masters, on pretence of devoting themselves 
to a stricter mode of life. Aerius, a presbyter 
of Sebaste, in Armenia, and suspected rather than 
proved, to have been a semi-Arian, maintained 
that there is no difference between bishop and 
presbyter, which he solidly proved by passages 
in Paul. He also disapproved of prayers for the 
dead, the stated fasts, the celebration of Easter, 
and other things that were then regarded by too 
many as constituting the very essence of religion. 
His aim was, it would seem, to reduce religion to 
its original simplicity. There were some others 
in the fourth century who looked with disgust up- 
on the progress of error, and superstition, and op- 
posed the general current ; but they received as the 
only reward of their labour, the brand of infamy. 
Eminent among these was Jovinian, an Italian 
monk, who taught that there was no particular 
merit in celibacy, macerating the body by fasting, 
&c. for which he was condemned by a council at 
Milan, A. D. 390, and afterwards banished by the 
emperor. It began now to be dangerous to main- 
tain the truth. The controversy concerning Ori- 
gen occupied a large field, in this century, and 
was sometimes the cause of quarrels and oppres- 
sion. The Arians laid claim to him as having 
favoured their party ; and this being believed by 
some of the orthodox, brought odium on his wri- 
tings, and on all who ventured to defend them. 

IX. Ceremonies were greatly multiplied in this 
century. Christian worship began now to differ 
very little from the idol worship of the Greeks and 
6* 



66 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

Romans. " In both there were splendid robes, 
mitres, tiaras, wax-tapers, crosiers, processions, 
lustrations, images, golden and silver vases, and 
innumerable other things alike." Magnificent 
temples were erected, adorned with pictures and 
images, very similar to the heathen temples, and 
were consecrated with great pomp, and with rites 
borrowed in great measure from the ancient laws 
of the Roman pontiffs. To encourage the build- 
ing of churches, the right of patronage was allowed 
— an evil that has existed in the church down to 
the present day — that is, he who built a church, 
should have the right to say who should minister 
in it. This also seems to have been copied from 
heathen example. Their worship consisted in 
" hymns, prayers, reading the holy scriptures, a 
discourse to the people, and finally the celebration 
of the Lord's supper. But these exercises were 
accompanied with various ceremonies, better cal- 
culated to please the eye, than to excite true devo- 
tion." Ceremonies varied, however, and different 
forms of prayer were in use in different churches. 
After the manner of the forum, and theatres, the 
people were allowed, in their public assemblies, to 
clap and applaud their preachers. The first day 
of the week was required by a law of Constantine 
(A. D. 321,) to be observed more sacredly and 
generally than before, as a day of rest ; except 
that country people were still permitted to sow 
their fields and to prop their vines, when the season 
best suited, as a work of necessity. Five annual 
festivals were generally observed ; viz : in com- 
memoration of the Saviour's birth, of his death, 
of his resurrection, his ascension to heaven, and 
the descent oft/te Holy Ghost. 

Great efficacy was ascribed to fasting, both to 



FOURTH CENTURY. 67 

repel the assaults of evil spirits, and to placate the 
Deity. The fast of lent, preceding Easter, was 
considered the most sacred, but was not yet limited 
to a certain number of days, which was optional. 
Anciently, they who fasted abstained entirely 
from food and drink, but in this age it began to be 
considered sufficient to abstain only from flesh 
and wine. Baptism was usually administered 
" on the vigils of Easter and Whitsuntide, accom- 
panied with lighted wax candles, and by the 
bishop, or by the presbyters whom the bishop 
commissioned for that purpose. In some places, 
salt, a symbol of purity and wisdom, was put into 
the mouth of the baptized, and every where a 
double anointing was used, the first before, and 
the other after baptism. After being baptized, 
the persons appeared clad in white gowns during 
seven days. That the Lord's supper was admin- 
istered twice or three times a week, (although in 
some places, only on Sunday,) to all who assem- 
bled for the worship of God, appears from innu- 
merable testimonies. It was also administered at 
the sepulchres of the martyrs and at funerals ; 
whence arose, afterwards, the masses in honour 
of the saints, and for the dead. The bread and 
wine were now every where elevated, before dis- 
tribution, so that they might be seen by the peo- 
ple, and be viewed with reverence; and hence 
arose, not long after, the adoration of the svm- 
bols." 

The remains of former heresies still existed in 
this century, especially the Manicheans. This 
wide spreading pestilence, although opposed by 
the pens of their ablest doctors, and by severe 
laws, could not be wholly arrested. In order to 



68 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

evade the laws enacted against them, they as- 
sumed various names. 

X. In the year 311 arose the sect of the Dona- 
tists, so called from Donatus their leader. This 
schism had its rise as follows. Mensurius, the 
bishop of Carthage, dying, Caecilian, the arch- 
deacon, was elected to the vacant chair, by the 
people and clergy of Africa proper, and consecra- 
ted without the concurrence of the Numidian 
bishops, who ought, according to custom, to have 
been present. This gave great offence to the Nu- 
midians, who held a meeting, deposed Ccecilian, 
and in his room, consecrated Majorinus, bishop 
of Carthage. Hence the Carthaginian church 
was divided into two factions, headed by two 
bishops. This schism spread over all Africa, 
most cities having two bishops, one taking sides 
with Csecilian, the other with Majorinus. The 
Donatists were condemned by several special 
councils, held by order of the emperor, and finally 
by the emperor himself; who, provoked by their 
continued contumacy and reproaches, deprived 
them of their churches, sent their seditious bishops 
into banishment, and punished some of them with 
death. This produced very violent tumults and 
commotions in Africa. Amongst these commo- 
tions arose the Circumcelliones, so called because 
they were accustomed to hover round the cellce, or 
cottages of the peasants, without any fixed habita- 
tions. They were "a furious, headlong, sangui- 
nary set, composed of the peasantry and rustic 
populace, who espoused the cause of the Donatists, 
defended it by the force of arms, and roaming 
through the province of Africa, filled it with 
slaughter, rapine and burnings, and committed 



FOURTH CENTURY. 69 

the most atrocious crimes against the adverse 
party." 

It does not appear, however, that the Donatist 
bishops, especially the better sort of them, excited 
or approved the violent and irregular proceedings, 
which brought great reproach upon their cause. 
The sect was greatly weakened toward the end 
of the century, as well by a great schism that 
arose among themselves, as by the activity and 
zeal of Augustine against them. The Donatists 
were in the main orthodox, but held no commu- 
nion with any not of their party. They re-ordained 
and re-baptized such as came over to them. 

XI. " Not long after the commencement of the* 
Donatist controversy, or in the year 317, another 
storm arose in Egypt, more pernicious, and of 
greater consequence, which spread its ravages 
over the Christian world. The ground of this 
contest was the doctrine of three 'persons in the 
Godhead ; a doctrine which, during the three 
preceding centuries, had not been in all respects, 
defined." This was called the Arian heresy^ 
from Arius, its principal supporter. " He main- 
tained that the Son is totally and essentially dis- 
tinct from the Father ; that he was only the first 
and noblest of those created beings whom God the 
Father formed out of nothing, and the instrument 
which the Father used in creating this material 
universe ; and therefore, that he was inferior to 
the Father both in nature and in dignity." Athan- 
asius, bishop of Alexandria, distinguished himself 
as the opposer of the doctrines of Arius ; and 
perhaps was the means, under God, of saving the 
church from the ruin of that overspreading heresy. 
A general council was called by order of the em- 
peror Constantine, which met at Nice, in Bithynia, 



70 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

in the year 325, in order to settle this great con- 
troversy. This council, reckoned the first general 
council, consisted of more than three hundred 
bishops, with the emperor at their head, who 
seems to have presided. " In this council, after 
various altercations and conflicts of the bishops, 
the doctrine of Arius was condemned, Christ was 
pronounced to be of the same essence with the 
Father, Arius was sent into exile in Ulyricum, 
and his followers were compelled to assent to a 
creed or confession of faith, composed by the 
council." Some years after, however, through 
the influence of Constantia, the emperor's sister, 
and an Arian presbyter whom she recommended 
to him at her death, Constantine was led to believe 
that Arius had been wrongfully condemned, through 
personal enmity, and he recalled him from his 
banishment. This was like to produce great dis- 
turbances, when Arius was taken off by a very 
sudden and unaccountable death, which was as- 
cribed by his enemies to the judgment of God. — 
His party, however, continued long after his 
death, and was greatly revived and strengthened 
under Constantius, one of the three sons and suc- 
cessors of Constantine the Great. The Arians 
were much weakened by divisions and dissensions 
among themselves. These divisions were numer- 
ous, but the principal of them may be reduced to 
three. First, the genuine Arians, who rejected all 
new modes of expression, and taught explicitly 
that the Son was not begotten by the Father, but 
created out of nothing. From these deviated on 
one side, the Semi-Arians, who held that the Son 
was of like essence with the Father ; and on the 
other side, the Eunomians, who contended that 
Christ was dissimilar, both in essence, and in 



FIFTH CENTURY. 71 

other respects from the Father. Near the end of 
this century, Theodosius the Great enacted laws 
against the Arians, and caused the decisions of 
the Nicene Council to triumph every where. 
Many other heresies of less note arose in this cen- 
tury, which I forbear to mention. 



CENTURY V. 

1. General interests of Christianity.— 2. Learning.— 3. Form 
and government of the Church. — 4. Degeneracy of the 
clergy. — 5. Monkery. — 6. Writers. — 7. Theology.— 8. Super- 
stitious and human inventions. — -9. Mystics. — 10. Vigilan- 
tius. — 11. The Donatists. — 12. Arians. — 13. Nestorians. — 
14. Eutychians. — 15. Pelagians. 

I. At the beginning of the fifth century, the Ro- 
man Empire was divided into two parts, one of 
which embraced the eastern, the other the western 
provinces. Arcadius, the emperor of the East, 
resided at Constantinople. Honorius, who gov- 
erned the West, lived at Ravenna, in Italy. The 
Empire, thus divided and weakened, and frequently 
disturbed by jealousies and dissensions between 
the two rival emperors, was subject to the contin- 
ual inroads and depredations of the northern bar- 
barians. The Goths laid waste Italy several times, 
and plundered Rome in a miserable manner. The 
fierce and warlike people of Germany overran the 
fair provinces of the south, Italy, Gaul, and Spain, 
and set up new kingdoms in them. Horde after 
horde came down from the prolific north, which 
has been called the birth place of nations ; and at 



72 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

last, in the year 476, the western empire, under 
Augustulus, was finally overturned by Odoacer, 
the chief of the Heruli. These invaders were 
afterwards, in their turn, vanquished by Theodo- 
ric, king of the Ostrogoths, at the instance of the 
emperor of the East. This new kingdom of the 
Ostrogoths, was therefore established in Italy, and 
under various fortunes, continued for more than 
half a century, owning some allegiance to the 
Emperor of the East, but in fact, independent. 
Amidst these wars, and incursions of the barba- 
rians, Christianity suffered much. There was not 
much direct persecution ; for the object of these 
incursions was not religion, but plunder, and to 
obtain a milder climate and more genial soil. Yet 
the worshippers of idols, who were still numerous, 
ceased not to use every means in their power to 
inflame the barbarians against the Christians ; and 
in Gaul and elsewhere, the Goths and Vandals 
are said to have put multitudes to death. 

The ancient Britons, no longer sustained by the 
Roman power, were miserably harassed by the 
Picts and Scots. To assist them against these 
troublesome neighbours, they called over the An- 
glo-Saxons from Germany to their aid, A. D. 449. 
But the remedy they soon found to be worse than 
the disease. These foreign auxiliaries undertook 
to subdue the people whom they had come to 
assist. This produced obstinate and bloody wars 
between them, which lasted with various successes, 
for one hundred and thirty years, when the 
Britons were compelled finally to yield up their 
country to the Anglo-Saxons, and retreat to Ba- 
tavia and Cambria, the modern Holland and 
Wales. During these conflicts, the British church 
was in a deplorable condition. The Anglo-Sax- 



FIFTH CENTUBY. 73 

ons, who as yet worshipped their own gods, 
although they did not directly persecute the 
Christians, yet showed them no mercy, and put 
multitudes of them to death. 

" In Persia, the Christians suffered grievously 
in consequence of the rash zeal of Abdas, bishop 
of Suza, who demolished the Pyreeum, a temple 
dedicated to fire. For being commanded by the 
king to rebuild it, he refused to comply : for which 
he was put to death in the year 414, and the 
churches of the Christians were levelled to the 
ground." Afterwards, in a war between the Per- 
sians and Romans, vast multitudes of Christians 
were put to death with cruel tortures, under pre- 
tence that they were friendly to the Romans, and 
wished to betray their country. The Jews, also, 
many of whom were possessed of wealth and in- 
fluence, in various parts of the East, harassed 
and oppressed the Christians, by all means in their 
power. 

Christianity, however, continued to spread and 
gain influence. In the East, it was strongly pro- 
tected by law. The emperors continued their ef- 
forts to extirpate what still remained of idolatry. 
Especially Theodosius the younger, who reigned 
from A. D. 408 to 450, enacted various laws re- 
quiring the idolatrous temples to be utterly destroy- 
ed, or to be dedicated to Christ and the saints ; 
abrogating the pagan ceremonies and rites ; and 
excluding the adherents to paganism from all pub- 
lic offices. The inhabitants of the mountains of 
Libanus and Antilibanus, being greatly annoyed 
by wild beasts, applied to the famous saint, Simeon 
Stylites. He told them that the only remedy was 
to forsake their old religion, and embrace Christ- 
ianity. These mountaineers obeyed his counsel 
7 



74 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

and became Christians ; and it is said that they 
saw the wild beasts quickly forsake their coun- 
try. Many Jews in the island of Crete, finding 
themselves basely deceived and deluded by one 
who pretended to be the Messiah, embraced Christ- 
ianity. 

In the West, amidst the disorder and confusion 
that prevailed, the laws against idolatry, and hea- 
then practices, were less strict. The Saturnalia, 
the Lupercalia, the gladiatorial shows, and other 
idolatrous customs were observed with impunity, 
both at Rome, and in the provinces ; and men of 
the highest rank and authority publicly professed 
the religion of their ancestors. The advocates 
of heathenism, in order to exasperate the people 
against the Christians, renewed the old complaint, 
that Christianity was the cause of the multiplied 
calamities of the times, and that the angry gods 
had sent these evils upon the world, in revenge for 
their deserted temples and neglected worship. This 
attack was repelled by Augustine in his famous 
work, De Civitate Dei. Christianity, however, 
still prevailed : and the barbarous tribes, one after 
another, from various causes, and under various 
influences, were brought to embrace the religion 
of the nations which they had conquered. 

Clovis, or Lewis, king of the Salii, a tribe of 
Franks, a bold, cruel, and haughty prince, extend- 
ed his dominion over the Gallic provinces, and 
founded the kingdom of the Franks. This prince, 
when brought into circumstances of great difficulty, 
influenced by his wife, made a vow, that if he ob- 
tained the victory over his enemies, he would wor- 
ship Christ as his God. He obtained the victory, 
and kept his vow, and was accordingly baptized at 
Rheims, A. D. 496. It was in the year 432 that 



FIFTH CENTURY. 75 

the famous St. Patrick, the apostle of Ireland, 
sent by Coelestine, bishop of Rome, commenced 
his mission amongst that barbarous people. His 
labours are said to have been abundantly success- 
ful : but it may be more than doubted, whether all 
the means which he employed, were calculated to 
produce a change of heart in his converts. He 
appears to have been a man of energy and cour- 
age ; he had acquired considerable knowledge of 
men and things, by misfortunes in youth, and pro- 
longed studies in his maturer years ; he had to 
deal with a bold and barbarous people, and accord- 
ing to the ideas and maxims of that age, he em- 
ployed such means as were most likely to give 
him influence, and lead by the shortest way to the 
end in view, — the submission of the Irish to the 
baptismal rite, and a conformity of outward life 
to such Christian instruction as he could give 
them. From the writings of his nephew, Patrick 
the younger, it appears, says Schlegel, " that St. 
Patrick was one of the most skilful men of his 
age in converting the heathen ; yet that he used 
unsuitable means for converting them, namely, 
fear, threatenings, and fictitious wonders or prodi- 
gies." A cave on a small island of Loch Derg, 
county of Donegal, is still shown to the traveller, 
as St. Patrick's Purgatory. It is said, that he gave 
out, that he had obtained of God, by his earnest 
prayers, that the torments which await the wicked 
in a future life should here be exhibited, in order 
the more easily to recover the Irish from their sin- 
ful state and pagan errors. Here he shut up gross 
transgressors, who were exposed to distressing ter- 
rors, and reported that they saw infernal spirits, 
and other terrifying objects. The cave had cer- 
tain holes, by which fire might be thrown into it, 



76 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

and other artifices were used, calculated to impress 
the minds of the ignorant with what was then sup- 
posed to be a salutary dread. The saint is still 
held in the highest veneration by the Irish Roman 
Catholics. He died, as some say, A. D. 460, in 
the eighty-third year of his age, while others place 
that event in A. D. 493. He founded the church 
of Armagh, which became the metropolitan See 
of the island. 

Respecting the causes that induced all the pagan 
and barbarous nations of Europe to renounce the 
religion of their ancestors, and embrace Christian- 
ity, Mosheim justly remarks : " He must lack dis- 
cernment, who can deny that the labours, the 
perils, and the zeal of great and excellent men, 
dispelled the clouds of darkness from the minds 
of many ; and on the other hand, he must be 
short-sighted, and not well versed in the history 
of this age, who cannot see, that the fear of the 
vengeance of man, the hope of temporal advanta- 
ges and honours, and the desire of obtaining aid 
from Christians against their enemies, were preva- 
lent motives with many to abandon their gods. 
How much influence miracles may have had, it is 
difficult to say. For I can easily believe that God 
was sometimes present with those pious and holy 
men, who endeavoured to instil the principles of 
true religion into the minds of barbarous nations ; 
and yet it is certain that the greatest part of the 
prodigies of this age are very suspicious." 

II. Learning in this century, especially in the 
west, began very much to decline. The barbari- 
ans that overran the country, held letters in utter 
contempt, and placed all virtue and glory in arms, 
and military courage. By the end of the century 
therefore, little more than the shadow of learning 



FIFTH CENTURY. 77 

was left, in the seven liberal arts, taught in the 
schools, in a very dry and jejune manner. In the 
East, schools of some celebrity were kept up at 
Constantinople, Athens, and Alexandria. To- 
wards the latter end of this century, Aristotle, af- 
terwards so generally adopted in the Christian 
schools, began to take the place of Plato, who had 
been commonly followed heretofore. One reason 
of this was, that the Dialectics of Aristotle fur- 
nished the means for those minute divisions, distinc- 
tions and definitions, and that logical and meta- 
physical mode of reasoning, which Christian 
doctors began now to use against heretics, and 
which led to the ridiculous jargon of school divin- 
ity in after ages. 

III. The external form and government of the 
church underwent some change. " The power of 
the bishops, particularly of the higher orders, was 
sometimes augmented, and sometimes diminished, 
according as times and circumstances altered ; yet 
the caprice of the court, and political considera- 
tions had more influence in this matter, than any 
principles of ecclesiastical law." In a general 
council, A. D. 381, the bishop of Constantinople 
had been raised in rank next in dignity to the 
bishop of Rome, on account of the dignity and pre- 
rogatives of the city where he presided. This in- 
flamed his vanity, and set him upon enlarging his 
territories. In this he had the aid and encourage- 
ment of the emperor, who felt himself honoured, 
by the honours and prerogatives of his bishop. 
His jurisdiction was therefore extended from 
time to time over the provinces of Asia, Thrace, 
Pontus, and Illyricum. And in the year 451, the 
council of Chalcedon, called the fourth general 
council, decreed that the bishop of new Rome 
7* 



78 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

ought to enjoy the same honours and prerogatives 
as the pontiff of ancient Rome, on account of 
the equal rank and dignity of the two cities. This 
the Roman pontiffs highly resented. A contest 
ensued between these rival prelates which was 
never entirely settled, and issued finally in the sep- 
aration of the Greek and Latin churches. In this 
century, the bishop of Jerusalem, as presiding 
over the mother church, first founded and govern- 
ed by the apostles, set up the claim of indepen- 
dent bishop or patriarch, and as such, attempted 
to enlarge his territory by wresting Phenicia and 
Arabia from the patriarchate of Antioch. This 
produced a dispute between the bishops of Antioch 
and Jerusalem which was settled by the council of 
Chalcedon. It was decreed that Phenicia and 
Arabia should be restored to the See of Antioch, 
and that the bishop of Jerusalem should enjoy the 
title of patriarch which he had assumed. There 
were now, therefore, five principal bishops over 
the Christian world, distinguished from others by 
the title of patriarchs ; namely, that of Rome, of 
Antioch, of Alexandria, of Constantinople, and of 
Jerusalem. 

" These patriarchs had great prerogatives. To 
them belonged the consecration of the bishops of 
their respective provinces. They annually con- 
voked councils of their districts to regulate and 
settle ecclesiastical affairs. If any great or diffi- 
cult controversy arose, it was carried before the 
patriarch. The bishops accused of any offences, 
w 7 ere obliged to abide by his decision. And finally 
to provide for the peace and good order of the re- 
mote provinces of their patriarchates, they were 
allowed to place over them their own legates or 
vicars." Yet there were churches, both in the 



FIFTH CENTURY. 79 

East, and in the West, that were independent of 
patriarchal jurisdiction. The churches of Scot- 
land, Wales, and Ireland maintained their inde- 
pendence for many centuries. The church of 
Carthage was also independent. 

But this arrangement of ecclesiastical powers 
was far from producing peace. Endless strifes 
and jealousies arose between the rival patriarchs 
themselves, each aiming to extend the prerogatives 
and jurisdiction of his own see. These contests 
were sometimes settled by an appeal to arms, and 
gave birth to bloody and destructive wars. The 
patriarchs also encroached without reserve upon 
the rights of their bishops, and also encouraged 
the bishops in their encroachments upon the rights 
of the inferior clergy, and the people under them. 
They sometimes wilfully excited and fomented 
disputes, of bishops with one another, and with 
other ministers of religion, and of the people with 
the clergy, that they might have frequent opportu- 
nities of exercising their authority, and increasing 
their influence. They also contrived, by the be- 
stowment of largesses, to draw over the monks to 
their side — a numerous class, beginning to acquire 
much wealth and influence, and who contributed, 
perhaps, more than any other cause, to subvert 
the ancient discipline of the church, to diminish 
the authority of the bishops and inferior clergy, 
and to monopolize all power in the hands of the 
dignitaries of the church by whom they were 
patronized. In this way was established by de- 
grees, a kind of spiritual bondage and tyranny, 
that resulted finally in the establishment of the 
pontiff of Rome as the universal bishop and head 
of the church, from whom all power and authori- 
ty emanates. For in all their contentions for 



80 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

power and prerogative, the patriarch of Rome was 
the most successful. And no one, in this centu- 
ry, contended more vigorously and successfully 
in their cause than Leo, commonly surnamed the 
Great. 

IV. The degeneracy and profligacy of the 
clergy of all ranks began now to be very great. 
The bishops, especially such as were distinguished 
for their rank and honours, affected great pomp 
and splendour. They employed various adminis- 
trators to manage their various affairs, and formed 
around themselves a kind of sacred court. Even 
presbyters did not blush sometimes to claim a 
superiority to the highest civil magistrate. Such 
pride and degeneracy of the clergy would not 
have been tolerated, had not the people been sunk 
in ignorance and superstition. They were art- 
fully taught to regard the ministers of religion as 
priests — a kind of privileged order, clothed with 
divine power and authority, to whom they owed 
implicit obedience and submission, but whose con- 
duct they must forbear to scrutinize or censure. 
And perhaps it may have contributed much to 
establish the power and authority of the priests 
and their metropolitan bishop of Rome, that the 
warlike tribes of Germany that conquered the Ro- 
mans, and divided their government among them- 
selves, had been under the dominion of priests 
called Druids, whom they were taught highly to 
reverence and respect. These Druids, from their 
greater knowledge, and the sacred character of 
their office, possessed great influence, often indeed, 
greater than that of their civil and military leaders ; 
the arch-Druid, in particular, was highly venera- 
ted. When they embraced Christianity, therefore, 
it was natural that they should regard the clergy, 



FIFTH CENTURY. 81 

as they had done their druidical priests, and the 
bishop of Rome as the chief Druid. 

One great cause of the degeneracy of the clergy, 
was the careless manner of admitting persons to 
that sacred office. The object was to increase 
their number. Multitudes, therefore, of ignorant 
men were received indiscriminately into the min- 
istry without examination ; many of whom only 
sought thereby to obtain a living, and to enjoy 
greater ease and indulgence. 

V. During the fifth century, the passion for the 
monastic life was very great ; and monks and 
nuns became extremely numerous in the West as 
well as in the East. Their peculiar mode of life 
procured them the credit of great sanctity. Monks 
had formerly differed nothing from the common 
laity, except in their dress and manner of living ; 
but now they began to aspire to a rank among the 
clergy. And such was the wealth and influence 
which they soon acquired, that they were able to 
hold an honourable rank among the chief support- 
ers and pillars of the church. Bishops and pres- 
byters were often chosen from among them. 
They began to form themselves into societies, and 
live in communities under some particular regula- 
tion called their rule. Each community had its 
head called an abbot, whose authority was absolute. 
These societies were first formed by St. Anthony, 
in the preceding century, in Egypt, where they 
had become so numerous as to turn their favourite 
desert into a populous country. This example 
was followed elsewhere, and soon became univer- 
sal. The erection of edifices for their accommo- 
dation, where they might conveniently live to- 
gether and serve God, came now to be regarded 
as a very pious and charitable act. Monasteries 



82 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

were erected in great numbers in the West, first 
in Italy, afterwards in Gaul and elsewhere. Dif- 
ferent monasteries had different rules, according 
to the will of its founders or governors. In some, 
these rules were written ; in others, they were 
guided by custom, or the despotic will of the abbot. 
The rules chiefly followed, were those of Augus- 
tine, Basil, Anthony, Athanasius, and Pachomius. 
Monks as yet, however, were not required to enter 
into any vows of perpetual celibacy, poverty and 
obedience, nor of adhering for ever to any one 
rule of life ; but every one was free to continue a 
monk or not, and to pass from one society or class 
of monks to another. Yet even in this age it ap- 
pears they had become proverbial for their licen- 
tiousness, and in many places are said to have 
excited dreadful seditions. 

VI. The principal writers of this century, in the 
East, were Cyril, bishop of Alexandria, who was an 
author of some merit, but of a quarrelsome, uneasy 
temper. — Theodoret, bishop of Cyrus, a considera- 
ble city of Syria, near the Euphrates, wrote 
commentaries on a large part of the Scriptures. 
His learning was great, his genius good, and his 
productions among the best of that age. — Isidorus, 
a monk of great austerity in his mode of living, 
resided in a monastery near Pelusium, in Egypt. 
His writings consist of short epistles to the num- 
ber of two thousand and thirteen, the object of 
which is to expound Scripture, and they are not 
without merit. — Among the writers of the West, 
the first place is due to Leo I., surnamed the Great. 
He was a man of extraordinary talents, a good 
writer, an indefatigable bishop, but immoderately 
devoted to the extension of the limits of his power. 
It has been said of him, that he possessed every 



FIFTH CENTURY. 83 

virtue compatible with a boundless ambition. He 
was bishop of Rome from A. D. 440 to 461. — 
Paul Orosius, a presbyter of Tarragona, in 
Spain, wrote a history with a view to confute the 
charge that Christianity was the cause of the 
troubles that then afflicted the empire, showing 
that such troubles, or greater, had existed before 
Christianity was known. He wrote also against 
the Pelagians and Priscillianists. — John Cassian 
devoted himself early to a monastic life. After 
living at several monasteries in the East, he came 
finally (A. D. 410) to Marseilles, in France, 
where he built two monasteries, one for males, and 
one for females ; and afterwards devoted himself 
to instructing the Gauls in the mode of living 
pursued by the monks of Syria and Egypt. He 
was a Semi-Pelagian, without learning, and su- 
perstitious ; but active, pious, and sincere. — Eu- 
cherius, of Lyons, some time a monk, but after- 
wards married ; he was a bishop of Lyons from 
A. D. 434 to 454. Peter, bishop of Ravenna, 
surnamed Chrysologus, on account of his elo- 
quence. — Salvian, an eloquent, but gloomy and 
austere writer. — Prosper, of Aquitain, and Marius 
Mercator, both active defenders of the doctrine 
of original sin, predestination, and free grace, 
against the Pelagians. — Vincent, of Lerins, Sido- 
nius, Apollinaris, Arnobius junior, and many 
others of less celebrity, lived in this century. 

VII. The Theology of the fifth century partook 
very much of the spirit of the age. The simplicity 
of doctrine and belief that characterized the purer 
ages of the church had passed away. Human 
reason, and human authority had, in a great mea- 
sure, usurped the place that belongs simply to the 
revealed word of God. It was an age of debate 



84 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

and contention, and many were the metaphysical 
definitions, incomprehensible distinctions, and am- 
biguous terms that were introduced. Hence 
arose abundant matter for difficulties, contentions 
and animosities, which flowed down to after ages. 
Each party assumed some test word of its own ; 
and not unfrequently, in avoiding one extreme of 
error, ran into the opposite, not less dangerous. 
In imitation of the Roman courts, where difficult 
and doubtful points of law were decided according 
to the opinions of certain ancient jurists ; so dis- 
puted points in religion were settled by the opinion 
of the majority of the most learned and distin- 
guished doctors of former times. This led to the 
production of many spurious works under the 
authority of great names, in order that an opinion 
might be sustained by the greater number of dis- 
tinguished authors. The writings of this age are 
chiefly controversial. Comparatively few under- 
took to expound the Scriptures ; and of those who 
did, the greater part followed Origen in despising 
the genuine and obvious meaning of the Scrip- 
tures ; and searching after abstruse senses, or 
what the Latins of this age called mysteries, in 
the plainest passages of the Bible. The practical 
writings are strongly tainted with the monastic 
spirit. 

VIII. The superstitious and human inventions 
by which religion had before been very much de- 
formed, were now greatly augmented. Prayers 
were offered to departed saints by multitudes ; nor 
does it seem that any opposed this absurd devo- 
tion, or even agitated the question, afterwards 
much discussed, viz : in what way these prayers 
could be heard by the inhabitants of heaven. 
They supposed that the souls of the departed were 



FIFTH CENTURY. 85 

not so confined to their celestial mansions, but 
that they might frequently visit our earth ; that 
they were much attached to the places where their 
bodies were buried, and frequently visited them. 
This opinion, derived from the Greeks and Ro- 
mans, drew great multitudes of supplicants to the 
f sepulchres of the saints. The images of those 
who were held in great repute for sanctity while 
on earth, were now honoured, in several places, 
with extraordinary devotion : and there were 
those who believed (what pagan priests had taught 
respecting the statues of Jupiter and Mercury,) 
that those inhabitants of heaven kindly afforded 
their presence in these their images. The bones 
of martyrs, and the sign of the cross, were thought 
to be most efficacious against the assaults of de- 
mons, and all other calamities ; and to have the 
power of healing diseases of both body and mind. 
The superstitious services paid to the souls of the 
dead, the multiplication, and extravagant venera- 
tion of temples, chapels, and altars, and many 
other like things, are full proof of a very degene- 
rate state of piety. Holy pilgrimages were some- 
times carried to a ridiculous extreme. Some tra- 
velled quite to Arabia, in order to see the dunghill 
on which pious Job sat, and to kiss the ground 
that had absorbed his precious blood. " The dung- 
hill of Job, says Chrysostom, is more venerable 
than the throne of a king." No one objected in 
those times, that Christians should entertain the 
notions of their heathen ancestors, respecting the 
soul, heroes, demons, temples and images. No 
one proposed entirely to abolish the ancient pagan 
institutions, but only to modify them somewhat, 
purify them, and adapt them to Christian doctrine 
and worship ; it was impossible, therefore, that the 
8 



86 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

religion and worship of Christians should not in 
this way become corrupted. The doctrine of the 
purification of souls after death, by means of some 
sort of fire, which afterwards became so great a 
source of wealth to the clergy, obtained in this 
age, a fuller development and greater influence. 

The rites and ceremonies of the church, in this 
century, were greatly multiplied. Everything was 
adapted to show and splendour. The magnifi- 
cence of the temples had no bounds. Splendid 
images were placed in them ; and among these 
the Virgin Mary, with the infant in her arms, held 
the most conspicuous place. Altars and reposito- 
ries for relics, were, if possible, made of silver. 
Many ornaments were added to the priestly gar- 
ments, to increase the veneration of the people for 
the clerical order. In some places, singing the 
praises of God was kept up continually, day and 
night ; one company succeeding another in this 
exercise without intermission. On account of the 
abuses to which they had led, the agapae, or love- 
feasts, were abolished. Private, auricular confes- 
sion, to a priest, instead of public confession, which 
had before been practised, was first permitted by 
Leo the Great, about the middle of this century. 

IX. It is wonderful to see to what extreme rigour 
of bodily mortification and torture, the mystics of 
this century, who pretended to be more perfect 
than other Christians, subjected themselves, in or- 
der to appease the Deity, and to deliver the celes- 
tial spirit from the bondage of this mortal body. 
" To live among wild beasts — nay in the ma?iner 
of these beasts, roam about like madmen, in desert 
places, and without garments ; to feed their ema- 
ciated bodies with hay and grass ; to shun the 
converse and the sight of men ; to stand motion- 



FIFTH CENTURY. 87 

less on certain places, for many years, exposed to 
the weather ; to shut themselves up in confined 
cabins, till life ended ; — this was accounted piety ; 
this, the true method of eliciting the spark of 
Deity from the secret recesses of the soul." 

Among this class of fanatics, none obtained 
greater celebrity than the Stylites, or pillar-saints ; 
who stood on the tops of lofty columns, for many 
years, or to the end of life, to the great astonish- 
ment and admiration of the ignorant multitude. 
The author of this singular institution in this centu- 
ry, was Simeon, a Syrian, commonly called Sime- 
on Stylites. As a matter of curiosity, and illus- 
trative of the superstition and stupid credulity of 
the age, I must transcribe the history of Simeon, 
as it is given by the translator of Mosheim. 

" This Simeon, we are told, was born at Sisan, 
in Syria, about A. D. 300. At the age of thirteen, 
while attending his father's sheep, he heard a pub- 
lic exposition of Luke vi. 21 — 25, (Blessed are 
ye that weep now, fyc. But wo unto you that 
laugh now, &c.,) which determined him to become 
a monk. Having therefore passed a novitiate of 
two years, he removed to a monastery near An- 
tioch, where he lived ten years. Here his abstin- 
ence and his voluntary mortifications were so ex- 
cessive as to draw on him censure from the other 
monks. He once swathed himself from his loins 
to his neck, with a rigid well-rope of palm, during 
ten days, which caused his whole body to fester 
and discharge blood. Being expelled the monas- 
tery for such austerities, he retired to the adjacent 
mountain, and let himself down into a dry cave. 
After five days the repenting monks sought him 
out, drew him forth from the cavern, and restor- 
ed him to their fellowship. But not long after, he 



88 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, 

retired to a little cell, at the foot of a mountain 
near Antioch, and there immured himself three 
years. During this period, having caused his den 
to be stopped up with earth, he remained buried 
forty days, without eating or drinking, and when 
disinterred, was found nearly dead. So pleased 
was he with this experiment, that he afterwards 
kept such a fast annually as long as he lived. 
Next, he removed to the top of the mountain, 
where he chained himself to a rock for several 
years. His fame had now become very great : 
and crowds of admiring visiters, of all ranks and 
characters, thronged around him. He instructed 
them, healed their diseases, and converted heretics, 
pagans, and Jews, in great numbers. Incommod- 
ed by the pressure of the crowd, he erected a pil- 
lar, on which he might stand, elevated at first six 
cubits, then twelve, twenty-two, thirty-six, and at 
last forty cubits. The top of the pillar was three 
feet in diameter, and surrounded with a balustrade. 
Here he stood, day and night, and in all weathers. 
Through the night, and until 9 o'clock A. M. he 
was continually in prayer, often spreading forth 
his hands, and bowing so low that his forehead 
touched his toes. A bystander once attempted to 
count the number of these successive prostrations, 
and he counted till they amounted to twelve hun- 
dred and forty-four. At 9 o'clock A. M. he be- 
gan to address the admiring crowd below, to hear 
and answer their questions, to send messages and 
write letters, &c, for he took concern in the wel- 
fore of all the churches, and corresponded with 
bishops, and even with emperors. Towards even- 
ing, he suspended his intercourse with this world ; 
and betook himself again to converse with God, 
till the following day. He generally ate but once 



FIFTH CENTURY. 89 

a week, never slept, wore a long sheepskin robe, 
and a cap of the same. His beard was very long, 
and his frame extremely emaciated. In this man- 
ner he is reported to have spent thirty-seven years ; 
and at last, in his sixty-ninth year, to have expir- 
ed unobserved, in a praying attitude, in which no 
one ventured to disturb him till after three days ; 
when Anthony, his disciple and biographer, mount- 
ing the pillar, found that his spirit was departed, 
and his holy body was emitting a delightful odour. 
His remains were borne in great pomp to Antioch, 
in order to be the safeguard of that un walled town, 
and innumerable miracles were performed at his 
shrine. His pillar also was so venerated, that it 
was literally inclosed with chapels and monaste- 
ries, for some ages. Simeon was so averse from 
women, that he never allowed one to come 
within the sacred precincts of his pillar. Even his 
own mother was debarred this privilege, till after 
her death, when her corpse was brought to him, 
and he now restored her to life, for a short time, 
that she might see and converse with him a little, 
before she ascended to heaven. — Such is the story 
gravely told us by the greatest writers of that age, 
and as gravely repeated in modern times, by the 
Roman Catholic historians." 

We are told that many in Syria and Palestine, 
followed the example of Simeon, though none fully 
equalled him ; and that this stupid form of reli- 
gion continued in the East, down to the twelfth 
century, when it was finally abolished. The 
Latins, however, did not follow the East in this 
matter ; and when one attempted it in the German 
territory of Treves, the neighbouring bishops had 
his pillar pulled down and prevented him. But 
the general sentiment of this age placed much 
8* 



00 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

greater honour upon the external signs of religion, 
and bodily exercises, than upon real holiness, 
which has its seat in the soul. " According to 
the sentiments of Salvian and others," says Mos- 
heim, " no one can become truly and perfectly 
holy, unless he abandons altogether his property 
and honours, contemns matrimony, banishes all 
hilarity from his mind, and subjects his body to a 
variety of mortifications and painful sensations. 
As there were few who could bear the severity of 
these rules, the veneration of those senseless or 
fanatical persons, those religious maniacs, to whose 
temperament these rules were adapted, increased 
marvellously ; and saints sprung up like mush- 
rooms." 

X. There were some few who dared to oppose 
the growing superstition of the age, but they were 
silenced by others, who were more numerous, in 
greater reputation, and possessed of greater in- 
fluence. " An example we have in Vigilantius, a 
presbyter of Gallic extract, but resident in Spain, 
a learned and eloquent man. After a journey to 
Palestine and Egypt, returning home near the be- 
ginning of this century, he issued several tracts, 
in which he taught and inculcated many things 
contrary to the opinions of the age. Among other 
things, he denied, that the tombs and bones of mar- 
tyrs were worthy of any religious worship ; and 
therefore, he censured pilgrimages, undertaken to 
places accounted sacred ; he ridiculed the mira- 
cles, which were said to take place in the temples 
consecrated to the martyrs ; and condemned the 
practice of keeping vigils in these temples ; he said 
that the burning of wax candles in the day time 
at the sepulchres of the martyrs, was imprudent- 
ly borrowed by Christians, from the ancient super- 



FIFTH CENTURY. 91 

stition of the pagans : he maintained, that prayers 
addressed to departed saints were fruitless : he 
treated with contempt the prevailing fasts, the celi- 
bacy of the clergy, and the monastic life : and he 
maintained that such as distributed all their goods 
among the poor, in order to live in voluntary pover- 
ty, and such as sent portions of their property to 
Jerusalem, did not perform an act which was pleas- 
ing and acceptable to God. These sentiments 
were not offensive to several of the Gallic and 
Spanish bishops. But the most renowned monk 
of that age, Jerome, attacked this bold religious 
reformer with so much acrimony, that he readily 
saw he must be silent, if he would regard his life 
and safety." 

XI. The schisms and heresies of this century 
might occupy a large space, but I will endeavour 
to present them with as much brevity as possible. 
The Donatists were still very numerous and very 
troublesome in Africa. As yet, they had not been 
molested with civil pains and penalties ; but in the 
early part of this century, the Catholic bishops, 
with Augustine at their head, procured from the 
Emperor Honorius an edict compelling them to re- 
turn to the bosom of the church, under penalty of 
fines, banishment, confiscation of goods, and even 
death for the more obstinate and contumacious. 
Under the influence of this law, many submitted 
i and returned to the church. Some escaped by 
flight, others by a voluntary death. The Circum- 
celliones, a kind of fanatic soldiers of this party, 
escaped by travelling up and down the province, 
with arms and violence, every where venting their 
rage. These measures inflicted a stroke upon this 
numerous and violent sect, from which it never 
recovered, although it continued to exist long 



92 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

afterwards, and even revived, in some measure, 
under the government of the Vandals. 

In the case of the Donatists, we see some of the 
effects naturally resulting from the policy of Con- 
stantine, and his successors, in bringing the church 
into subjection, in its external interests, to the state. 
The pagan emperors held the name and office of 
Ponlifex Maximus ; the Christian emperors drop- 
ped the name, but exercised the power. Hence, 
uniformity, in ecclesiastical matters, was not left to 
result from the union of mind and heart, produced 
by faith and love ; but was prescribed by imperial 
edicts, and enforced by civil penalties. The Donat- 
ists were doubtless wrong in some things, and too 
prone, with the characteristic excitability of Afri- 
cans, to be hurried away by their passions. They 
were also unfortunate in having the sinistrous 
friendship, and reputed alliance of the vagabond 
Circumcelliones. But if they had been left to lib- 
erty of conscience, if they had not been coerced 
by the civil authority, at the instance of the estab- 
lished church, and if the violations of law or order, 
committed by individuals, or bodies of rioters, had 
been punished as crimes against the state, without 
imputing them to the Donatists, as a religious sect ; 
their history, it may be believed, if it had at all 
come down to us, would have been that of a re- 
spectable denomination of Christians, who, while 
they held the common faith, had some erroneous 
views of the constitution of the church, were too 
rigorous in discipline, and censurably defective in 
Christian charity. It is an unhappy thing for any 
body of men to have their principles and conduct 
described, and their character transmitted to pos- 
terity, only by the pens of their enemies. 

XII. The Arians, oppressed and persecuted as 



FIFTH CENTURY. 93 

they were by the orthodox, took refuge among the 
barbarians that had embraced Christianity, and 
found there a safe retreat. The Goths, the Heruli, 
the Suevi, the Vandals, and the Burgundians, em- 
braced the Arian creed, and in their turn, persecu- 
ted the orthodox. Especially " the Vandals, who 
had established their kingdom in Africa, surpassed 
all the rest in cruelty and injustice. At first Gen- 
seric their king, and then Huneric his son, demol- 
ished the temples of such Christians as maintain- 
ed the Divinity of the Saviour, sent their bishops 
into exile, mutilated many of the more firm and 
decided, and tortured them in various ways. And 
they expressly stated that they were authorized to 
do so, by the example of the emperors, who had 
enacted similar laws against the Donatists in Afri- 
ca, the Arians, and others who dissented from 
them in religion. During this African persecution, 
God himself is said to have confuted the Arians 
by a great miracle, causing by his almighty pow- 
er, the persons whose tongues had been cut out by 
order of the tyrants, to speak distinctly notwith- 
standing, and to proclaim the glory and the praises 
of Christ. The fact itself, no one can well deny, 
for it rests on powerful testimony ; but whether 
there was anything supernatural in it, may be 
questioned. 

XIII. About the year 430, the sect of the Nes- 
torians arose, so called from Nestorius, a Syrian, 
bishop of Constantinople. This produced a most 
lamentable schism in the church, upon a subject 
of very inferior and doubtful character, which has 
existed down to the present day. The Nestorians, 
as a distinct sect, are still numerous in the East. 
The dispute seems first to have arisen about the 
use of the word Qzotokos, (mother of God) applied 



94 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

to the Virgin Mary. In their opposition to the 
Arians, this word had come into very common use ; 
and with some, was a favourite expression. This 
was the case particularly with the Apollinarists ; 
a party, that in shunning Arianism, had struck 
upon the opposite rock ; and, in order to maintain 
the proper Divinity of Christ, denied to him proper 
humanity. They held that Christ assumed only 
a human body, endowed with a sentient soul, but 
not possessed of intellect ; and that the Divine na- 
ture in Christ did the office of a rational soul, or 
mind. This doctrine, Nestorius and others oppos- 
ed. They maintained " that in Christ there were 
not only two natures, but two persons, or hypos- 
tases ; of which the one was Divine, even the 
eternal Word ; and the other, which was human, 
was the man Jesus ; that these two persons had 
only one aspect ; that the union between the Son 
of God, and the son of man, was formed in the 
moment of the virgin's conception, and was never 
to be dissolved ; that it was not, however, a union 
of natures, or of persons, but only of will and af- 
fection ; that Christ was therefore to be carefully 
distinguished from God, who dwelt in him as in 
his temple ; and that Mary was to be called the 
mother of Christ, but not the mother of God." 

Cyril, bishop of Alexandria, a man of a most 
restless and arrogant spirit, and jealous of the 
growing power and authority of the bishop of 
Constantinople, immediately made opposition, con- 
demned the doctrine of Nestorius, and required 
him to recant. This he refused to do ; whereupon 
Cyril assembled a council at Alexandria, (having 
first consulted with Celestine, bishop of Rome, 
whom he had enlisted in his cause,) and pronoun- 
ced twelve anathemas against Nestorius, who find- 



FIFTH CENTURY. 95 

ing himself condemned for blasphemy against 
Christ, returned as many anathemas against Cyril ; 
charging him with the Apollinarian doctrine, of 
confounding the two natures of Christ. This led 
to the calling of a general council, at Ephesus, 
A. D. 431, called the third general council. In 
this council Cyril presided ; and from the history 
of it, it seems to have been any thing else, rather 
than an infallible council, or even a regularly con- 
ducted deliberative body. Cyril was anxious to 
have the case decided, before John, bishop of Anti- 
och, and the other bishops of the East, whom he 
suspected of being friendly to Nestorius, should 
arrive. This, as well as the presiding of Cyril, 
who was his enemy and prosecutor in this matter, 
Nestorius maintained was unfair and unjust ; and 
therefore when summoned to trial, he refused to 
appear. " But Cyril, pressing the business for- 
ward, without a hearing of the cause, and a great 
part of the bishops being absent, Nestorius, whom 
the council compared with Judas, the betrayer of 
the Saviour, was condemned as guilty of blas- 
phemy, deprived of his office, and sent into ban- 
ishment, where he closed his days." The doc- 
trine established by the council, and which has 
generally been received by the church to the pres- 
ent day, was — that Christ consists of one Divine 
person, yet of two natures, most closely united, 
but not mixed or confounded. This decision, how- 
ever, did not end the dispute, which continued to 
agitate the church for ages after. 

XIV. But it was in that day, as it is in this, that 
disputants almost uniformly ran into opposite ex- 
tremes. This was the case with " Eutyches, ab- 
bot of a certain convent of monks at Constantino- 
ple ; from whom originated another sect, directly 



96 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

opposite to that of Nestorius, but equally trouble* 
some, and mischievous to the interests of Christian- 
ity ; and which, like that, spread with great rapidi- 
ty throughout the East, and acquired such strength 
in its progress, that it gave immense trouble both 
to the Nestorians and to the Greeks, and became 
a great and powerful community." Eutyches 
maintained that there was only one nature in 
Christ, namely, that of the Word, who became in- 
carnate ; that the two natures of Christ after the 
union, did not remain two distinct natures, but con- 
stituted one nature ; and therefore it was correct 
to say, Christ was constituted of or from two na- 
tures ; but not that he existed in two natures. The 
doctrine of Eutyches was first sustained, and his 
accusers condemned, by a council held at Ephe- 
sus, A. D. 449. This council was headed by 
Dioscorus, bishop of Alexandria, a man of much 
such a spirit as Cyril, to whom he was successor, 
and who managed the business of this council, 
with the same unfairness and injustice. Indeed, 
the matter was finally decided by a band of sol- 
diers, and an armed mob, who rushed into the 
church, where the council were sitting. The 
Greeks call this council an assembly of Robbers. 
But this scene was soon changed. Through 
the influence of Leo the Great, pontiff of Rome, 
another general council was called, by the Em- 
peror Marcian, at Chalcedon, in the year 451, 
which is called the fourth general council. In this 
council, in which the legates of Leo had great in- 
fluence, Dioscorus was condemned, deposed, and 
banished ; the acts of the late council were re- 
scinded ; Eutyches, who had already been deposed 
and banished by the emperor, was condemned, 
though absent ; and all Christians were required 



FIFTH CENTURY. 97 

to believe, that in Jesus Christ there is but one 
person, yet two distinct natures, no way confounded 
or mixed. This, however, instead of proving a 
remedy, and putting an end to the controversy, 
rather made the matter worse. A large portion 
of the Eastern bishops made violent opposition to 
this council of Chalcedon, and contended earnestly 
for the one nature in Christ. Hence arose most 
deplorable discords and cruel wars almost exceed- 
ing credibility. Those who adopted the views of 
these bishops were afterwards called Monophysites, 
and were divided into several parties, with slight 
shades of difference ; and their contentions were 
handed down to after ages. 

XV. In the early part of this century, other 
troubles invaded the church from the West, in the 
Pelagian controversy, which has continued through 
successive ages to the present day. This heresy 
was headed by Pelagius, a Briton, in conjunction 
with Coelestius, an Irishman, both monks living 
at Rome. They held, " that what was commonly 
inculcated and believed, respecting the corruption 
of the human nature, derived to us from our first 
parents, was not true ; that the parents of the 
human race sinned, only for themselves, and not 
for their posterity ; that men are now born as pure 
and innocent as Adam was, when God created 
him ; that men, therefore, can, by their natural 
power, renovate themselves, and reach the highest 
degree of holiness ; that external grace is indeed 
needful to excite men to efforts, but that they have 
no need of internal divine grace." These doc- 
trines they disseminated first privately at Rome, 
and afterwards openly in Africa and the East ; 
where they found some favour, especially with 
John, bishop of Jerusalem. They were, however, 
9 



98 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

powerfully and successfully opposed by Augustine, 
and their doctrines condemned by the general 
council at Ephesus, A. D. 431. These contests 
gave rise to others not less distressing. Augustine 
did not at first state with sufficient clearness, his 
opinions respecting the divine grace necessary to 
salvation, and the decrees of God in regard to the 
future condition of individual men. His system 
therefore, was carried out by some to the doctrine 
of absolute necessity — "that God has predestina- 
ted the wicked, not only to suffer eternal punish- 
ment, but also to commit sin, and to incur the 
guilt which will merit that punishment ; and of 
course, to believe, that both the good and the sin- 
ful actions of men were, from all eternity, divinely 
predetermined and fixed by an inevitable neces- 
sity." Others again, headed by John Cassian, a 
monk who came to Marseilles in France, from the 
East, went to the other extreme ; and were called 
Semi-Pelagians. They taught, " that God did not 
dispense his grace to one more than another, in 
consequence of an eternal and absolute decree, but 
was willing to save all men, if they complied with 
the terms of his gospel ; that Christ died for all 
men ; that the grace purchased by Christ, and 
necessary to salvation, was offered to all men ; 
that man, before he received grace, was capable 
of faith and holy desires ; that man was born free, 
and consequently, was capable of resisting the in- 
fluences of grace, or of complying with its sugges- 
tions." These doctrines prevailed, and still pre- 
vail, very extensively. From this period, therefore, 
commenced those knotty controversies, concerning 
the nature and the mode of that divine agency, 
or grace, which is necessary for our salvation ; 
which have unhappily divided Christians, in every 



SIXTH CENTURY. 99 

subsequent age, and which are still protracted, to 
the grief of all the pious and the good. 



CENTURY VI. 

1. General interests of Christianity.— 2. Literature.— 3. Monk- 
ery. — 4. Theology. — 5. Rites and Ceremonies. — 6. Sects. 

I. The boundaries of the church were extended in 
the East during the sixth century, over a number 
of heathen tribes who dwelt in the neighbourhood 
of the Black Sea. Ethelbert, king of Kent in 
Britain, with his x\nglo-Saxons, was converted to 
Christianity near the close of this century, by 
means of one Augustine, at the head of forty Ben- 
edictine monks, sent over by Gregory the Great 
for this purpose. Augustine established the See 
of Canterbury, and was ordained archbishop and 
primate of all England. Several barbarous tribes 
of Germany are said to have embraced Christian- 
ity in this century ; and many Jews in Gaul and 
Spain submitted to be baptized, through the influ- 
ence, either of rewards offered, or punishments 
threatened them. But the conversions of this 
century were little more than receiving the rite of 
baptism, assuming the name of Christian, and 
making some little change in the external form of 
their heathen worship, in order to accommodate 
it to Christianity. Heathen temples were changed 
into Christian churches, and were purified and 
consecrated with holy water ; and the people were 
only required to worship the images of Christ and 



100 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

of holy men, instead of those of their idol gods, 
and, for the most part, with the same ceremonies. 
The religion of the heart seems scarcely to have 
been thought of. 

Christians suffered severe persecution this cen- 
tury under Chosroes, king of Persia. The ancient 
Britons, who were Christians, suffered every kind 
of calamity from their conquerors, the Anglo-Sax- 
ons ; by whom they were driven from their terri- 
tory, and shut up among the mountains of Wales 
and Cornwall. Over the rest of England, until 
near the end of this century, heathenism reigned; 
and the churches were demolished, or converted 
into idolatrous temples. The Huns also made in- 
roads upon Thrace and Greece, about the middle 
of the century, and treated the Christians with 
great cruelty. 

In the constitution of the church, there was no 
important change in this century. The bishops 
of Rome and Constantinople, who were regarded 
as standing at the head of the whole church, were 
incessantly contending for priority, and about the 
extent of their territories and jurisdiction. John, 
bishop of Constantinople, seems first to have as- 
sumed the title of universal bishop, about A. D. 
587. This greatly incensed the bishop of Rome ; 
and Gregory the Great maintained that it was 
profane, antic kristian, and infernal, by whomso- 
ever assumed. The wealth and privileges of the 
clergy continued to increase, and in the same 
proportion, their luxury and other vices. Laws 
were enacted forbidding drunkenness, fortune-tell- 
ing, simony, concubinage, perjury, usury, and 
gaudy dress in the clergy. Near the close of the 
last century, a dreadful contest arose between 
Symmachus and Laurentius, each claiming to be 



SIXTH CENTURY. 101 

duly elected pontiff of Rome. They charged one 
another with the grossest crimes. This dispute, 
prosecuted on both sides in the most violent man- 
ner, filled Rome with war and bloodshed for many 
years ; and was at last settled by an appeal to 
Theodoric, the Arian king of the Goths at Ra- 
venna. 

II. The sixth century in regard to literature, is 
almost a blank. What little learning remained, 
was chiefly found among the bishops and monks. 
To most of the churches called Cathedrals, schools 
were attached, where the bishop, or some one ap- 
pointed by him, instructed the youth in the seven 
liberal arts ; namely, Grammar, Rhetoric, Logic, 
Arithmetic, Music, Geometry, and Astronomy. In 
most of the monasteries were opened schools, in 
which such youth were taught as were devoted to 
the monastic life. Libraries were also collected 
in them, and the feebler of the monks, that were 
incapable of encountering severe labour, were em- 
ployed in transcribing books. To these institu- 
tions therefore, injurious as they were in many 
respects, the world is chiefly indebted for the 
remains of ancient literature, that were preserved 
and handed down through the dark ages. Some 
bishops of the church were utterly opposed to the 
reading of heathen authors, as a horrible wicked- 
ness ; and especially Gregory the Great, bishop 
of Rome, is said to have committed Livy's History 
to the flames, and to have caused the Capitoline 
Library at Rome to be burned. This same Greg- 
ory however, could expressly tolerate many pagan 
customs and heathenish rites. 

III. The increase of monkery in this age, was 
very great every where. In the East, whole 
armies might have been enrolled, without any sen- 

9* 



102 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

sible diminution of their numbers. In the West, 
this mode of life found patrons and followers, 
almost without number, in all the provinces. In 
Great Britain, one Congal influenced vast numbers 
to abandon active life and spend their days in 
solitude, according to a rule which he prescribed. 
His disciples filled Ireland, Gaul, Germany, Swit- 
zerland, and other countries. He is said to have 
ruled over three thousand monks, living in dif- 
ferent monasteries and cells. 

In the year 529, a new order of monks was es- 
tablished in the West, by St. Benedict, which in 
time absorbed all the others. His rule, which is 
still extant, is very strict ; and the order, at first, 
seem to have been a virtuous, orderly, and useful 
people. They promoted literature, husbandry, 
agriculture, &c, and laboured with their own 
hands. But after they had acquired immense 
wealth, by the liberality of princes and pious indi- 
viduals, they gave themselves up to luxury, idle- 
ness, and every vice ; and were most active in 
promoting the power and authority of the Roman 
pontiffs. 

The writers of this century, although numerous, 
were generally of an inferior grade. None of 
them rose above mediocrity, unless we make Bo- 
ethius an exception, and therefore they need not 
be particularly mentioned. 

IV. The theology of this century was greatly 
debased and corrupted, and partook largely of 
mysticism, superstition, and error. The contro- 
versial theologians of the East continued to darken 
and perplex the great truths of religion, by the 
most subtle distinctions, and the jargon of their 
philosophy. The mere externals of religion were 
inculcated upon the people, and that in a very 



SIXTH CENTURY. 103 

erroneous manner. Penance was enjoined instead 
of repentance ; fasting, repeating prayers, and the 
like, instead of a holy life; great merit was 
attached to building churches, founding monaste- 
ries, and such like pious works ; the clergy were 
held in high veneration, and empty ceremonies 
much admired. " Whoever wishes to gain more 
distinct information on this subject," says Mos- 
heim, " need only read what occurs in the epistles 
and other writings of Gregory the Great, among 
others, respecting the worshipping of images and 
departed saints, the fire which purifies souls after 
death, the efficacy of good works, that is, of human 
prescriptions and devices for attaining salvation, 
the power of relics to remove defects both of soul 
and body, and other things of the like character. 
A man of sense cannot help smiling, at the gener- 
osity of the good Gregory in distributing his relics ; 
but he must feel pity for the simple, stupid people, 
who could be persuaded that oil taken from lamps 
burning at the sepulchres of the martyrs, possessed 
uncommon virtues and efficacy, and added both 
holiness and security to its possessors." 

They who undertook to be expositors of Scrip- 
ture, scarcely deserve the name. Most of them 
followed Origen in despising the plain sense of 
Scripture ; and, searching for allegories and moral 
precepts, by means of a roving imagination, de- 
duced whatever they wished, from the sacred 
Oracles. 

The disputes about Origen, and his philosophi- 
cal corruptions of Christianity, were still kept up, 
or rather revived among the monks of Palestine. 
The doctrines ascribed to him, and entertained by 
his followers, (for it is rather uncertain what Ori- 
gen himself held,) were finally condemned by the 



104 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

fifth general council, convened at Constantinople, 
by order of the emperor Justinian, A. D. 553. 
The errors ascribed to Origen are the following, 
with some others of like character.. 1. That 
there is a pre-existent state of human souls. 
2. That souls were condemned to animate mortal 
bodies, in order to expiate faults they had commit- 
ted in a pre-existent state. 3. That the soul of 
Christ was united to the Word before his incarna- 
tion. 4. That at the resurrection of the dead, we 
shall be clothed with ethereal bodies. 5. That 
after long periods of time, the damned shall 
be released from their torment, and restored to a 
new state of probation. 6. That the earth after 
its conflagration, shall become habitable again, 
and be the mansion of men and animals, and that, 
in eternal vicissitudes. 

This council also decided the controversy re- 
specting the three chapters, so called ; which has 
been the cause of much contention and disturbance 
in the church. This appellation was given to 
three subjects of dispute ; the first, respecting the 
character and writings of Theodorus, of Mopsues- 
tia ; the second, the writings of Theodoret of Cy- 
rus, opposing the twelve anathemas that Cyril of 
Alexandria had published against Nestorius ; the 
third, an epistle of Ibas of Edessa. These bishops 
had favoured the Nestorians ; their writings were 
therefore condemned, and Theodorus, although 
dead, was pronounced a heretic, by this council. 
This was a pretty severe reflection upon the 
council of Chalcedon, which had sustained these 
men and their writings. It was therefore vio- 
lently opposed by Vigilius, bishop of Rome. 
Here we seem to have one general council against 
another. 



SIXTH CENTURY. 105 

Another controversy broke out among the Greeks 
in the year 519 ; namely, whether it could be pro- 
perly said that one of the Trinity was crucified ; 
and connected with this was another question ; 
whether it was proper to say that C/irisfs person 
was compounded. Such were the questions that 
disturbed the peace of the church in that age. 

V. Rites and ceremonies continued to increase 
in proportion as piety and godliness declined ; for 
it is usual for those to make most of the forms of 
religion, who have least of its power. In the East, 
the Novatian and Eutychian controversies occa- 
sioned the introduction of many rites and forms, 
as marks of distinction between the different par- 
ties. In the West, Gregory the Great was remark- 
ably fond of inventing and introducing new cere- 
monies. The multiplication of new ceremonies, 
gave rise to a new kind of science ; the object of 
which was to explain their use and meaning. 
Public worship was still performed in the vernacu- 
lar language of each nation. Gregory the Great, 
established a new mode of administering the Lord's 
supper, magnificently and with splendid apparatus. 
But it was many ages before the other western 
churches could be prevailed upon to adopt this 
Romish form. He also introduced the responsive 
chant, and established a school for church music. 
Baptism was chiefly administered at the greater 
festivals ; viz : christmas, epiphany, easter, Whit- 
suntide, and St. John the Baptist's day. Temples 
dedicated to the saints were exceedingly numerous, 
both in the East and in the West. They were 
built not merely for the accommodation of wor- 
shippers — for this they were not needed ; but the 
favour and patronage of the saints, were thought, 
in this way, to be secured to the provinces, cities, 



106 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

towns, and villages, in which their temples were 
erected and dedicated. The number of least days 
almost equalled that of the churches. The feast 
of the purification of the Virgin Mary, seems to 
have taken place of the heathen Lu/percalia ; 
which, in some respects, it resembled. 

VI. The old sects still subsisted in various places. 
The Manichea?is were considerably numerous in 
Persia. In Gaul and Africa, the contentions be- 
tween the Semi-Pelagians, and the followers of 
Augustine continued. The Donatists revived in 
Africa, under the Vandal government, until that 
kingdom was overturned, A. D. 534. From that 
time they declined, and became extinct before the 
end of this century ; at least are not heard of after- 
wards. The Arians, in the beginning of this cen- 
tury, were triumphant in some parts of Asia, Africa, 
and Europe. Many Asiatic bishops favoured them ; 
and the Vandals in Africa, the Goths in Italy, many 
of the Gauls, Suevi, Burgundians, and Spaniards, 
openly espoused their cause. But this prosperity 
of the Arians wholly terminated, w r hen, under the 
auspices of Justinian, the Vandals were driven 
from Africa, and the Goths from Italy. The other 
kings of the West, who had espoused their cause, 
either by arguments, or some other means, were 
brought over to the orthodox faith. The Nestori- 
ans during this century, had numerous societies 
in all parts of Persia, in India,* in Armenia, 

*The Christians of St. Thomas, on the coast of Malabar, 
are a branch of the iVestorians ; who have existed down to 
the present day, almost without any connexion with any other 
part of the Christian church. They are said to retain strong- 
ly the features of their descent from the earliest Christian 
communities. They celebrate the azapae, (love-feast;) portion 
maidens from the property of the church ; and provide for the 
poor. Their ideas of the Lord's supper incline to those of the 



SIXTH CENTURY. 107 

Arabia, Syria, and elsewhere. The sect of the 
Monophysites, (that is, they who held to the one 
nature in Christ, and who veered to the opposite 
extreme from the Nestorians,)were also numerous 
in the East. About the middle of the century, this 
sect was greatly revived and strengthened, by the 
most indefatigable labour and perseverance of one 
Jacobus, an indigent monk, who travelled over all 
the East for this purpose. From him, as the sec- 
ond father of the sect, all the Monophysites in the 
East are called Jacobites. There were a number 
of mooted points, about which the Monophysites 
disagreed and disputed among themselves. Some 
said that the Divine nature had so insinuated itself 
into the body of Christ, from the very moment of 
his conception, that his body became changed in 
its nature so as to be mcorraptible. Others held 
that the body of Christ was corruptible, but owing 
to the influence of the Divine nature, was never 
in fact corrupted. They disputed also whether the 
body of Christ was created or uncreated. Another 
discussion related to the degree of knowledge that 
pertained to the human nature of Christ — or ra- 
ther, to Christ, as partaking of human nature. 
From the controversies with the Monophysites, 
arose the sect called Tritheists ; because they held 
that there were in God, three numerically distinct 
natures or substances, all perfectly alike, and con- 



Protestants,- but in celebrating it, they use salt and oil. At the 
time of baptism, they anoint the body of the infant with oil. 
These two ceremonies, with that of the consecration of priests, 
are the only sacraments which they acknowledge. Their 
priests are distinguished by the tonsure, and are allowed to 
marry. Their churches contain, except the cross, no symbols 
nor pictures. They are in number about eighty thousand, and 
are under the British government, free from any ecclesiastical 
restraint. 



108 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

nected by no common chain or vinculum. In 
matters of this sort, there has, in every age, been 
a strong propensity in man, to be wise above what 
is written ; and this is the source of more than 
half the disputes, that in former, as well as in 
modern times, have rent and deformed the church. 



CENTURY VII 

1. Extension of Christianity. — 2. Mohammedism. — 3. Litera- 
ture. — 4. The Roman church receives the title of head of 
all the churches. — 5. State of religion. — 6. Sects.— 7. Mon- 
othelites. 

I. In the seventh century, Christianity contin- 
ued to extend its influences, both in the East and 
in the West. The Nestorians in Persia, Syria, 
and India, laboured with great industry, to propa- 
gate Christianity among the barbarous and savage 
nations, inhabiting the deserts, and remotest shores 
of Asia. There is abundant evidence, that in this 
century there were many Christians in China, over 
whom, for several subsequent centuries, a metro- 
politan presided, sent out by the Nestorian patri- 
arch. " It is the constant tradition of the Syrian 
Christians, that St. Thomas the apostle, made an 
excursion to China ; and the Christians of Malabar 
celebrate the event in their ordinary worship ; 
and their primate styled himself metropolitan of 
Hindostan and China, when the Portuguese first 
knew them." 

In England, Ethelbert, king of Kent, had been 
converted to Christianity near the close of the last 



SEVENTH CENTURY. 109 

century. In the course of this century, the other 
six kings, forming the Saxon Heptarchy, came 
over, one after another, and Britain became entire- 
ly Christian. The conversion of these Saxon 
kings, seems to have been effected very much, by 
the influence of their Christian wives. Paulinus, 
in the year 627, is said to have baptized twelve 
thousand Northumbrians in one day, in the river 
Swale, near Richmond. " A great dispute arose 
about the tonsure of priests, (whether only a con- 
siderable spot, or the whole head, except a circu- 
lar margin, should be shaved,) and about the time 
of holding Easter — those north of the Thames 
following the Irish or Gaelic ritual, and those south 
of it the Roman — a conference was held on these 
subjects, at Whitby, in the year 664. Here Os- 
way, king of Northumberland, learning from the 
Romish party, that St. Peter had the keys of the 
kingdom of heaven, and that the other party could 
not deny that fact, declared he would not offend 
St. Peter, lest when he arrived at the gates of 
heaven, he should find that the door-keeper would 
not open to him. This wise thought decided the 
question with the majority." Columbanus, St. 
Gall, St. Kiiian, and other zealous missionaries, 
extended Christianity among the tribes of Ger- 
many, Switzerland, Denmark, &c. that were still 
pagans. The Jews in many places, were cruelly 
treated, and often reluctantly compelled to receive 
baptism, and to make an outward profession of 
their belief in Christ. 

II. Christianity did not suffer much persecution 
in this century; but a new and most powerful enemy 
started up in Arabia, A. D. 612, in the person of 
Mohammed, He professed to- be the prophet of 
God , sent to overthrow all polytheism ; and also to 
10 



110 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

purge and reform, first, the religion of the Arabs, 
and next, those of the Jews and Christians. Mo- 
hammed at first treated Christians with mildness, 
but afterwards with great cruelty. This extraor- 
dinary delusion was propagated with great rapid- 
ity, and to great extent ; and exists down to the 
present day, over an extent of country, perhaps 
not less than Christendom itself. " The causes of 
the rapid propagation of this new religion among 
so many nations, are not difficult to be discovered. 
In the first place, the terror of arms, which Mo- 
hammed and his successors carried with great suc- 
cess into different countries, compelled vast multi- 
tudes to receive his law. In the next place, his 
law itself was admirably adapted to the natural 
dispositions of men, and especially to the manners, 
the opinions, and the vices prevalent among the 
people of the East ; for it was extremely simple, 
proposing very few things to be believed ; nor did 
it enjoin many and difficult duties to be performed, 
or such as laid severe restraints on the propensi- 
ties of men. Moreover, the consummate ignor- 
ance, which characterized, for the most part, the 
Arabians, the Syrians, the Persians, and other na- 
tions of the East, gave a bold and eloquent man 
ready access to the minds of immense multitudes. 
We may add, that the virulent contests among the 
Christians, Greeks, Nestorians, Eutychians, and 
Monophysites, which filled a large part of the 
East with carnage and horrible crimes, rendered 
their religion odious in the eyes of many. And the 
Monophysites and Nestorians, whom the Greeks 
oppressed most grievously, rendered assistance to 
the Arabians, and thus facilitated their conquest of 
some provinces. Other causes will suggest them- 
selves to those who consider attentively the state 



SEVENTH CENTURY. Ill 

of the world, and the character of the Moham- 
medan religion." 

III. Learning, in this age, was at a very low 
ebb, and philosophy almost extinct ; especially in 
the West. What little learning still existed, was 
confined chiefly to the cloisters of the monks. The 
laws forbade any one to be made an abbot, unless 
he had some learning ; and the monks were re- 
quired to devote some portion of every day to 
reading. It was rare to find any one among the 
bishops, who was capable of composing his own 
discourses. They contented themselves for the 
most part, with garbled extracts from Augustine, 
Gregory, and others. One exception there was, 
in Theodorus, a Cilician, who, in 668, was made 
bishop of Canterbury. He was a man of learning, 
and gave an impulse to the cause of letters among 
the Anglo-Saxon clergy. He introduced a fine 
library of Latin and Greek works into England, 
The writers of this century are of very inferior 
character, and need not be mentioned. Few un- 
dertook to interpret Scripture ; and they, with very 
little success. Books on practical religion were 
chiefly filled up with legends of saints, calculated 
only to cherish superstition. 

IV. The contest for pre-eminence between the 
prelates of Rome and Constantinople, was still kept 
up. The pontiff of Rome, Boniface III. obtained 
a decree from the tyrant Phocas, who had seized 
upon the imperial crown, after the murder of the 
emperor Mauritius, " that the Romish church, the 
apostolic seat of the blessed apostle Peter, should 
be the head of all the churches." The Roman 
pontiffs struggled hard, by every means in their 
power, to increase and extend their authority ; but 
as yet it was far from being universally acknow- 



112 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

ledged and submitted to. The time had not yet 
come, when the pope might set up kings, and de- 
pose them at his pleasure. 

V. The degeneracy of the clergy was very great ; 
and unceasing quarrels existed in many places, be- 
tween the bishops and the monks. The latter ap- 
pealed to the pontiff of Rome, who readily took 
them under his care, and gradually exempted them 
from the jurisdiction of the bishops. They in turn 
defended the interest of the pontiff, as if it were 
their own. The monks, in the meantime, from 
the favour of the pontiffs, and their show of ficti- 
tious piety, were every where greatly increased, 
and especially among the Latins. Parents eager- 
ly consecrated their children to God, with good 
portions of their property made over to the monas- 
teries. They who had been guilty of great crimes, 
hoped to make atonement for them, by making 
over their property to some company of monks : 
and immense numbers, impelled by superstition, 
robbed their heirs of their richest possessions, in 
order to render God propitious to them through 
the prayers of the monks. 

" During this century, true religion lay buried 
under a mass of senseless superstitions ; and was 
unable to raise her head. The earlier Christians 
had worshipped only God, and his Son ; but those 
called Christians in this age, worshipped the wood 
of a cross, the images of holy men, and bones of 
dubious origin. The early Christians placed hea- 
ven and hell before the view of men ; these latter 
depicted a certain fire prepared to burn off the im- 
perfections of the soul. The former taught that 
Christ had made expiation for the sins of men, by 
his death and blood ; the latter seemed to incul- 
cate that the gates of heaven would be closed 



SEVENTH CENTURY. 113 

against none who should enrich the clergy or the 
church with their donations. The former were 
studious to maintain a holy simplicity, and to fol- 
low a pure and chaste piety ; the latter placed the 
substance of religion in external rites and bodily 
exercises. Did any one hesitate to believe ? Two 
irrefragable arguments were at hand ; the author- 
ity of the church, and miracles ; for the working 
of which, in these times of ignorance, but a mode- 
rate share of dexterity was requisite." 

We may form a tolerably definite idea of the 
piety of this age, by observing in what it was 
made to consist, by one who, at the time, was even 
more celebrated for his sanctity, than honoured 
for his ecclesiastical dignity. St. Eloi, bishop of 
Noyon, in France, thus defines the " good Christ- 
ian." — " He is a good Christian, who trusts in no 
phylacteries, or subtle inventions of the devil. He, 
I say, is a good Christian, who washes the feet of 
his guests, and loves them as if his dearest rela- 
tives ; who according to his means, gives alms to 
the poor ; who comes often to church, and brings 
his offering to be laid on the altar of God ; who 
tastes not of his produce till he has first offered 
some of it to God ; who uses not deceitful weights 
and double measures ; who does not lend his 
money for usury ; who both lives chastely him- 
self, and teaches his children and neighbours to 
live chastely and in the fear of God ; final- 
ly, who commits to memory, the Creed and the 
Lord's Prayer, and teaches the same to his sons 
and daughters. He who is such, is without doubt 
a true Christian. . . . But that you may be true 
Christians, both think of the precepts of Christ 
continually in your mind, and obey them in your 
conduct. Redeem your souls from punishment, 
10* 



114 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

while you have the means in your power. Give 
alms according to your ability, maintain peace and 
charity, reconcile those who are at variance, avoid 
lying, dread perjury, give no false testimony, com- 
mit no theft, present offerings and tithes to the 
churches, bring candles to the holy places accord- 
ing to your wealth, remember the Creed and the 
Lord's Prayer, and teach them to your children. . . 
Come often, also, to church, humbly beg the inter- 
cessions of the saints, from reverence for the re- 
surrection of Christ, keep the Lord's day without 
any servile work, observe the Saints' days with 
pious affection, &c. Which if you shall do, you 
will come with confidence, in the day of judgment, 
before the bar of the eternal Judge, and say : Give, 
Lord, for we have given ; have mercy, for we 
have shown mercy ; we have done what thou hast 
commanded, perform what thou hast promised." — 
The serious reader will notice, that, in this full 
length portrait of a true Christian, the inventions 
of men are put on a level with the commandments 
of God ; and that the only ground on which sin- 
ners can be justified before God being overlooked, 
they are sent to the bar of final judgment, depend- 
ing on their own works. 

Rites and ceremonies still increased. To the 
festivals already oppressively numerous, was added 
a day consecrated to the wood of the cross, on 
which the Saviour was crucified. This was done 
A. D. 631, when the emperor Heraclius vanquish- 
ed the Persians, and recovered the real cross, (so 
called) which Cosroes their king had carried off 
fourteen years before. The Pantheon at Rome 
was obtained by gift, and consecrated by Boniface 
to the Virgin Mary, and all the martyrs ; as it had 
before been sacred to all the Gods, and particular- 



SEVENTH CENTURY. 115 

ly to Cybele ; and the feast of All Saints was in- 
stituted. Churches were invested with those rights 
of asylum, which afforded villains an opportunity 
to commit crimes without much danger ; and which 
led, in the West, to the most shocking disorders. 
The art of ornamenting churches magnificently, 
was cultivated with great diligence by Honorius. 

VI. Many of the ancient sects, although repress- 
ed by the imperial laws, still existed, and sometimes 
revived. The Nestorians and Monophysites en- 
joyed protection and encouragement under the 
government of the Saracens, who had made them- 
selves masters of a great part of the East. The 
Greeks during this century, were engaged in a 
tierce contest with the Paulicians, who inhabited 
Armenia and the adjacent countries, and were con- 
sidered as a branch of the Manichseans. There is 
every reason, however, to believe that they were 
not Maniehseans, but pious witnesses of the truth, 
who protested against the unsound doctrines, the 
superstition, and the prelacy which had then gain- 
ed so general an establishment in the church. The 
statements of their enemies to the contrary have 
been too generally believed and adopted. They 
were probably called Paulicians, on account of 
their great attachment to the epistles of the apostle 
Paul. They were assailed, not only with argu- 
ments ; but more effectually with arms and legal 
enactments. In Italy, the Lombards preferred 
the opinions of the Arians, to the doctrines of the 
Nicene creed. In Gaul and in England, the Pela- 
gian and Semi-Pelagian controversies still produ- 
ced some disquietude. 

VII. Amongst the Greeks, there arose, in the 



116 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

year 630, a new sect, called Monothelites, which 
soon produced very great commotions. It grew 
out of an attempt of the emperor Heraclius to 
restore the Monophysites to the communion of the 
church. They had suggested that if the Greeks 
would admit and profess, that in Jesus Christ, 
after the union of the two natures, there was but 
one will, and one voluntary action, there might 
be a reconciliation. This doctrine, Sergius, pa- 
triarch of Constantinople, and Cyrus, bishop of 
Alexandria, decided, might be held, without preju- 
dice to the truth, or to the council of Chalcedon. 
And this opinion was confirmed by a solemn de- 
cree of a council held by Cyrus of Alexandria. 
When Honorius, pontiff of Rome, was afterwards 
applied to on the subject by Sergius, he decided 
that those held sound doctrine who taught, that 
there was one will and one operation in Christ. 
This doctrine was violently opposed by Sophron- 
ius, first a monk, and afterwards patriarch of Je- 
rusalem. After much contention and disturbance, 
a general council was assembled at Constantinople, 
A. D. 680, called the sixth oecumenical council ; 
in which the Monothelites, and among them Ho- 
norius, pontiff of Rome, were condemned as here- 
tics ; and the doctrine of two wills y a human and 
a divine, and two kinds of voluntary acts in 
Christ, was defined and established. It seems 
that the infallibility of the Pope was not yet 
thought of, as this council so unceremoniously 
condemned him as a heretic. The doctrine of the 
Monothelites, condemned and exploded by the 
Council of Constantinople, found a place of refuge 
among the Mardaites, a people who inhabited the 
mountains of Libanus, and Antilibanus ; and who 
about the conclusion of this century, received the 



EIGHTH CENTURY. 117 

name of Maronites, from John Maro, their first 
bishop, a name which they still retain. In 692, 
another council was held at Constantinople, in 
which were decreed one hundred and two canons, 
on various subjects relating to external worship, 
the government of the church, &c. Some of these 
canons were opposed to the opinions and customs 
of the Romish church : the Roman pontiffs there- 
fore refused to approve the council as a whole, or 
to rank it among the general councils, although 
they have deemed the greater part of its canons to 
be excellent. 



CENTURY VIII. 

1. Extension and sufferings of the church. — 2. Increase of cor 
ruptions and power among the clergy. — 3. State of religion 
— 4. Literature — 5. Controversies. 

I. The Nestorians in the East continued, during 
the eighth century, to extend the influences of 
Christianity among the Scythians and Tartars, 
inhabiting the shores of the Caspian Sea. A Nes- 
torian missionary by the name of Subchal, travel- 
led further East, and spread the gospel extensively 
in Tartary, Cathai,and China. In the West, by 
the active and persevering labours of Boniface, 
who has obtained the title of the apostle of Ger- 
many, churches were established extensively 
among the Thuringians, Hessians, and Friesiand- 
ers ; by the latter of whom, he was finally mur- 
dered, together with fifty other clergymen, who 



118 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

attended him ; (A. D. 755.) Boniface possessed 
great zeal and activity, and perhaps true piety ; 
but strongly tinctured with the errors of those 
times. — excessive attachment to monkery, super- 
stitious regard for the externals of religion, and 
devotion to the power and authority of the Roman 
pontiff. Corbinian, a French Benedictine monk ; 
Pirmin, also a French monk ; and Lebwin, an 
Englishman ; with many others of less note, la- 
boured with zeal, and with more or less success, 
to establish Christianity among other nations of 
Germany that were still heathen. Corbinian 
obtained remarkable fame, by his marvellous 
sanctity, and numerous miracles. The Saxons 
and Huns, who were less yielding to the influence 
of missionaries that were sent among them, were 
more effectually brought over to submit to bap- 
tism, by the arms of Charlemagne. With all due 
zeal, he assailed them with the sword, with re- 
wards and punishments, the legitimate arguments 
of kings, until, being humbled and exhausted, they 
thought it better to become Christians, than to be 
slaves. One law, well calculated, we may sup- 
pose, to accomplish its object, was in these words. 
If any 'person of the Saxon race, shall contempU 
uously refuse to come to baptism, and shall resolve 
to continue a heathen, let him be put to death. 
For these achievements of Charlemagne, in behalf 
of Christianity, the gratitude of posterity decreed 
him the honours of a saint. 

The following are curious specimens of the mi- 
racles of this age. " In the life of St. Winnock, 
it is stated as a miracle, that his mill, when he let 
go of it, to say his prayers, would turn itself. And 
when an inquisitive monk looked through a crevice, 
to see the wonder, he was struck blind for his pre- 



EIGHTH CENTURY. 119 

sumption. The biographer of St. Pardulphus, 
makes a child's cradle to rock day after day, with- 
out hands ; while, if touched, it would stop, and 
remain immovable. In the life of St. Guthlack, 
of Croyland, while the saint was praying, at his 
vigils, a vast number of devils entered his cell, 
* rising out of the ground, and issuing from crevices. 
These bound the saint fast, dragged him through 
hedges and briers, lifted him up from the earth, 
and carried him to the mouth of hell, where he 
saw all the torments of the damned. But while 
they were threatening to confine him there, St 
Bartholomew appeared in glory to him ; the 
devils were affrighted ; and he was conducted 
back to his cell, by his celestial deliverer. These 
are only a few, among scores of others, which 
might be adduced." 

In this century, the church suffered very se- 
verely both in the East, and in the West, from 
the Saracens. The Greek empire, greatly weak- 
ened by internal dissensions, was not able to 
withstand this warlike people, who overran the 
fairest portions of Asia and Africa, and in many 
places, wholly exterminated the Christian faith. 
In the year 714, the Saracens passed over from 
Africa into Spain, and routed the army of Roderic, 
king of the Spanish Goths, and subdued the 
greater part of that country. Thus was the 
kingdom of the West Goths in Spain, wholly ex- 
terminated by this ferocious people, after it had stood 
more than three centuries. And even France and 
Italy suffered from the frequent invasions of these 
fierce and victorious propagators of the Moham- 
medan faith. The Christians of Germany often 
suffered from the neighbouring tribes that still re- 
mained pagan. About the middle of this century 



120 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, 

a new enemy to Christianity appeared, still more 
savage and cruel than the Saracens ; namely, the 
Turks. They were a tribe of the Tartars, a 
rough and uncivilized race, who, issuing from the 
narrow passes of Caucasus, burst upon Colchis, 
Iberia, and Albania, and thence proceeding to 
Armenia, first subdued the Saracens, and after- 
wards the Greeks. 

II. The degeneracy and vices of the clergy of 
this age may be inferred from the laws enacted 
against them by Carloman, Pepin, and especially 
Charlemagne. These laws forbid clergymen's 
loaning money at twelve per cent, interest — haunt- 
ing taverns — practising magic — receiving bribes 
to ordain improper persons : bishops, abbots, and 
abbesses, were forbidden to keep packs of hounds, 
or hawks and falcons. Laws were also enacted 
against clerical drunkenness, concubinage, and 
profane swearing. Notwithstanding their vices, 
the clergy were held in very great veneration, 
particularly in the West. Before they embraced 
Christianity, these nations were under the control 
of their priests, and dared not attempt any thing 
important, either civil or military, without their 
concurrence. These prerogatives, therefore, when 
they became Christian, they readily transferred 
to the bishops and ministers of their new religion ; 
and the Christian prelates and clergy, craftily and 
eagerly seized and appropriated to themselves 
these rights. Hence originated the monstrous 
authority of the priesthood in the European 
churches, which was always much greater than 
in the East. 

" To the honours and prerogatives enjoyed by 
the bishops and priests, with the concurrence of 
the people of the West, were added, during this 



EIGHTH CENTURY. 121 

period, immense wealth and riches. The church- 
es, monasteries, and bishops had before been well 
supplied with goods and revenues ; but in this cen- 
tury, there arose a new and most convenient 
method of acquiring for them greater riches, and 
of amplifying them forever. Suddenly, by whose 
instigation is not known, the idea became univer- 
sally prevalent, that the punishment for sin, which 
God threatens to inflict, may be bought off by lib- 
eral gifts to God, to the saints, to the temples, and to 
the ministers of God, and of glorified saints. This 
opinion being every where admitted, the rich and 
the prosperous, whose lives were now most flagi- 
tious, conferred their wealth, (which they had re- 
ceived by inheritance, or wrested from others by 
violence and war, according to the customs of the 
age,) upon the glorified saints, their ministers, and 
the guardians of their temples, most bountifully, 
for religious uses ; in order to avoid the very irk- 
some penances,* which were enjoined upon them 
by- the priests, and yet be secure against the evils 
that threatened to overtake them after death. This 
was the principal source of those immense trea- 
sures, which from this century onward, through 
all the subsequent ages, flowed in upon the clergy, 
the churches, and the monasteries." 

Princes and noblemen made over to the church, 
not merely private possessions, but public proper- 
ty — royal domains — whole provinces, cities, and 
castles ; with all the rights of sovereignty. Thus 
the persons, whose business it was to teach con- 
tempt of the world, unexpectedly became Dukes, 

* The penarffces imposed by the priests of those times upon 
those who confessed their sins to them, were such as, long and 
Bevere fasts, tortures of the body, frequent and long contin- 
ued prayers, pilgrimages to the tombs of the saints, and the like. 
11 



122 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

Counts, Marquises, Judges, Legislators, sovereign 
Lords ; and not only administered justice to citi- 
zens, but even marched to war, at the head of their 
own armies. These gifts to the church were com- 
monly called the price of sins ; and were said to 
be given, for the redemption of their souls, and for 
the purchase of the soul. 

This great aggrandizement of the clergy in the 
West, commenced with their head, the Roman 
pontiff, and thence extended to the inferior bishops, 
priests, and fraternities of monks. In the year 
755, Pepin, king of the Franks, at the solicitation 
of pope Stephen II. marched with an army into 
Italy, conquered Aistulphus, king of the Lombards, 
who had laid seige to Rome, wrested from him the 
Exarchate of Ravenna, and the Pentapolis, and 
with amazing liberality, bestowed them upon St. 
Peter and his church ; thereby constituting the 
pope a prince and civil rider, as well as spiritual 
head of the church. This grant, Charlemagne, 
the son and successor of Pepin, in 774, confirmed 
and enlarged. Pepin's motive, in making this lib- 
eral grant to St. Peter, was, as appears from nu- 
merous testimonies, to make atonement for his 
sins, especially the great sin he had committed, in 
conspiring against his master, Childeric, and seiz- 
ing upon his crown. — From this time when the 
pope became a temporal prince, some date the be- 
ginning of the reign of Antichrist ; others, from 
the year 606, when by the decree of the tyrant 
Phocas, the church of Rome was declared to be 
the first, (not in dominion, but) in rank and digni- 
ty, of all the churches. — The pope, however, was 
not yet regarded as head over all the kings of the 
earth. On the contrary, the right of appointing 
and creating the Roman pontiffs, was, by Hadrian 



EIGHTH CENTURY. 123 

I., in a council at Rome, conferred on Charle- 
magne, and his successors. Emperors and kings 
had the right of calling councils and presiding in 
them ; nor could the decrees of a council have the 
force of laws, unless they were confirmed and rati- 
fied by the reigning sovereign. 

The total corruption of the whole sacred order, 
produced in the West, a new species of priests, 
called canons, who were an intermediate class be- 
tween the monks, or regular clergy, as they were 
called, and the secular priests. They lived to- 
gether, ate at the same table, and adopted, in part, 
the mode of life of the monks ; but did not take 
any vows upon themselves. 

III. The religion of this age consisted almost 
wholly in external forms and ceremonies. More 
solicitude, for the most part, was manifested for 
multiplying and regulating those, than for correct- 
ing the vices of men, and removing their ignorance 
and impiety. The mode of celebrating the Lord's 
supper, which was considered the most important 
part of the worship of God, was protracted to a 
great length, and deformed by the addition of vari- 
ous regulations. The superstitions of the age, in 
regard to this ordinance, may be seen from the 
following decisions of Pope Gregory III. " If any 
one, through negligence, destroy the eucharist, i.e. 
the sacrifice, let him do penance one year, or 
three Quadrigesimas. If he let it fall on the ground, 
carelessly, he must sing fifty Psalms. Whoever 
neglects to take care of the sacrifice, so that worms 
get into it, or it lose its colour or taste, must do 
penance twenty or thirty days ; and the sacrifice 
must be burned in the fire. Whoever turns up the 
cup at the close of the solemnity of the mass, 
must do penance forty days. If a drop from the 



124 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

cup should fall on the altar, the minister must suck 
up the drop, and do penance three days ; and the 
linen cloth, which the drop touched, must be wash- 
ed three times over the cup, and the water in which 
it is washed, be cast into the fire." Charlemagne 
made some attempt to restrain these growing su- 
perstitions, but did not effect much. 

The fundamentals of the Christian faith were in- 
deed still taught, both by the Latin and Greek 
writers, but with great mixture of error. — The 
efficacy of the merits of the Saviour was acknow- 
ledged, and yet tacitly depreciated by teaching 
that man can appease God, either by undergoing 
voluntary punishments, or by offering him gifts 
and presents ; and by laying great stress upon the 
works and merits of holy men, and especially of 
the Virgin Mary. " The whole of religion or pie- 
ty consisted, in this and some subsequent centu- 
ries, in founding, enriching, embellishing and en- 
larging, churches and chapels ; in hunting after, 
and venerating, the relics of holy men ; in secur- 
ing the patronage of deceased saints with God, 
by gifts and superstitious rites and ceremonies ; 
in worshipping the images and statues of saints ; 
and in performing pilgrimages to holy places, espe- 
cially to Palestine ; and in other similar practices." 

IV. The little learning that still remained in this 
age of darkness, was confined chiefly to the priests 
and monks. The former were required at their 
ordination, to be able to read, to sing, and to repeat 
the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, and Psalter, and to 
ascertain the feast days. Those among the La- 
tins that distinguished themselves in any meas- 
ure by their learning, were chiefly Britons and 
Irishmen. Charlemagne patronized learning, and 
used considerable exertions to promote it. 



EIGHTH CENTURY. 125 

Few writers of this century, deserve any partic- 
ular mention. The most distinguished of the 
Greeks, was John Damascenus, a man of respect- 
able talents, and of some eloquence. Of the La- 
tins, among the best was Charlemagne. He was 
not only a great general and statesman, but also a 
good scholar, and a great promoter of learning. 
He understood Latin and Greek, was well read in 
civil history, and was no contemptible theologian. 
He published a collection of Edicts, and four books 
against image-worship. Beda, commonly called 
the venerable Bede, was an Englishman of great 
learning for the times. He wrote, among other 
things, an Ecclesiastical History of Great Britain, 
from the invasion of Julius Caesar to the year 731. 
Alcuin, also an Englishman, — as an orator, poet, 
philosopher, and theologian, was, perhaps, the 
most distinguished man of his age. His writings 
consist chiefly of expositions of the Scriptures, 
letters and treatises on theology and science. 

V. The greatest controversy that disturbed the 
peace of the church in this age, related to the wor- 
ship of sacred images. The controversy origina- 
ted in Greece, and thence spread over the East, 
and the West, producing great harm both to church 
and state. The contest against images was chief- 
ly sustained by the Greek emperors, first, Leo, the 
Isaurian, and after him, Constantino, his son. Leo 
issued an edict, in the year 726, commanding all 
images of saints, with the exception of that of 
Christ upon the cross, to be removed out of the 
churches, and the worship of them to be wholly 
discontinued and abrogated. * This gave great of- 
fence, and produced a civil war ; for the people, 
either spontaneously, or being instructed by the 
priests and monks, to whom the images were a 
11 * 



126 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

source of gain, regarded the emperor as an apos- 
tate from the true religion ; and that therefore they 
were freed from their oath of allegiance. In Italy, 
the Roman pontiffs, Gregory II. and Gregory III. 
were the principal supporters of image worship, 
and authors of the revolt. The former did not 
hesitate to say, that, in his view, the emperor had 
rendered himself unworthy of the name and pri- 
vileges of a true Christian. In this dispute the 
Roman pontiffs lost a large portion of their terri- 
tory, which was annexed by the emperor, to the 
see of Constantinople. Constantino, the son and 
successor of Leo, called a council that met at Con- 
stantinople in the year 754, to examine and decide 
this distressing controversy. By the Greeks, this 
is called the seventh general council. It was com- 
posed of three hundred and thirty-eight bishops, a 
greater number than had ever before been assem- 
bled in any council. They decided that all wor- 
ship of images was contrary to the Scriptures, and 
to the sense of the church, in the purest ages ; that 
it was idolatry, and forbidden by the second com- 
mandment. They also maintained that the use of 
images in churches, and places of worship, was a 
custom borrowed from the pagans ; that it was of 
dangerous tendency, and ought to be abolished. 
But all this did not end the controversy. Irene, a 
wicked woman, who had murdered her husband, 
Leo IV. and usurped the government, was a fa- 
vourer of image worship. She therefore, in league 
with the Roman pontiff Hadrian, assembled a coun- 
cil at Nice, in Bithvnia, in the year 786, called the 
second Nicene council. — " Here, the laws of the 
Emperors, together with the decrees of the council 
of Constantinople, were abrogated ; and penalties 
were denounced against those who should maintain, 



EIGHTH CENTURY. 127 

that worship and adoration were to be given only 
to God." In these controversies, the Britons, Ger- 
mans, and French, took a middle ground. They 
held that images should be retained in the church- 
es ; but that religious worship could not be offered 
to them, without dishonouring the Supreme Being. 
Charlemagne, therefore, in the year 794, assem- 
bled a council of three hundred bishops, at Frank- 
fort on the Maine. This council forbade the wor- 
ship of images. The western bishops, with their 
emperor, had not yet learned to yield implicit sub- 
mission to the Roman pontiff. 

Another subject of contention arose in this cen- 
tury, viz : respecting the procession of the Holy 
Spirit, This was still more warmly agitated in 
the following century, and accelerated the separa- 
tion of the eastern and western churches. 

The ancient sects, the Arians, Manichaeans, 
Marcionites, Nestorians, Monophysites, and Mo- 
nothelites, still existed, and even revived, in many 
parts of the East. Considerable disturbance was 
produced in the West, near the close of this centu- 
ry, by Felix, bishop of Urgel in Spain. He held 
that Christ, as God, was by nature, and truly, the 
Son of God ; but as man, he was the Son of God, 
only in name, and by adoption. This was thought 
to savour of theNestorian error, of two natures in 
Christ ; he was required to revoke his opinions, 
which he ostensibly did. His followers were call- 
ed Adoptionists. 



128 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORV. 



CENTURY IX. 

1. The Church still extended in the West.— 2. Saracens and 
Normans. — 3. Ignorance and corrupt lives of the clergy. — 
4. Pope Joanna. — 5. Power and profligacy of the Pontiffs. — 
6. Monkery. — 7. Relics. — 8. Learning and theology. — 9. Con- 
troversies. — 10. Gra6e and Predestination, — 11. Contests be* 
tween the pontiffs of Rome and Constantinople. — 12. Rites 
and ceremonies. — 13. Ancient sects. 

I. In the ninth century, Christianity continued to 
spread among the nations of Europe. Charle- 
magne, until his death, A. D. 814, omitted no 
means which he deemed requisite, to propagate 
and establish Christianity among the Huns, Sax- 
ons, Frieslanders, and others. The means em- 
ployed, however, it is to be regretted, were not 
always justifiable. Rewards and promises, and 
sometimes force, were employed. Some presby- 
ters sent into Carinthia, in lower Pannonia, adopted 
the following expedient, which was very success- 
ful. They allowed Christian slaves to sit at 
table with them, while their pagan masters had 
to eat their bread and meat without the doors, 
and had to drink out of black cups, whereas the 
servants drank from gilded cups. For the pres- 
byters told the masters — " You unbaptized persons 
are not worthy to eat with those that are bap- 
tized." Lewis the Meek, the son and successor 
of Charlemagne, was not less zealous in propaga- 
ting Christianity, than his father. By him mis- 
sionaries were sent into Denmark and Sweden, 



NINTH CENTURY. 120 

who laboured with much success. Missionaries 
were also sent from Constantinople, by the empress 
Theodora, who taught the Mcesians, Bulgarians, 
and Gazari, and afterwards the Bohemians and 
Moravians, to renounce their false gods, and em- 
brace Christ. The Greek emperor Basil, influ- 
enced the warlike Russians, by presents and 
other means, when he had made a peace with 
them, to admit Christian teachers, and an arch- 
bishop among them, which was the commencement 
of Christianity in that country. The missionaries 
that went among the heathen in this age, are said 
to have been men of more piety and virtue, for the 
most part, than those who undertook the conver- 
sion of the pagans in the preceding century. Yet 
the religion which they inculcated, was far from 
that simple rule of truth and holiness, which the 
apostles taught, and was adulterated by many 
human additions. Among the nations which 
they converted, too many relics of the old super- 
stitions were suffered to remain. This, as we 
have seen, had been the principal source of the 
corruption of Christianity, down from the apostles' 
times ; and in this way, indeed, it came finally, 
in its external rites and forms, and too often in its 
spirit also, to resemble much more those systems 
of paganism, to which it succeeded, than that 
pure, simple system of faith and worship, inculca- 
ted by Christ and his apostles. 

II. In Asia, Africa, Spain, and even Italy, the 
Christians suffered much in this century from the 
Saracens. Many renounced Christianity and 
embraced the religion of their conquerors, for the 
sake of peace ; and they who did not, sunk into 
very great ignorance and indifference, retaining 
almost nothing of Christianity, except the name, 



130 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

and a few religious rites. The Normans, a fierce 
and barbarous people, inhabiting the shores of 
the Baltic, in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, 
had long practised piracy along the coasts of the 
German and Gallic oceans. But in this century, 
they became much more bold, and made frequent 
incursions into Germany, Britain, Friesland, and 
especially France, plundering and devastating 
with fire and sword wherever they came. These 
inroads they extended sometimes as far as Spain, 
and even Italy. They destroyed and plundered 
many churches and monasteries in all these 
countries. For in these places were deposited 
large treasures, partly belonging to the establish- 
ments, and partly deposited there for safe keeping. 
III. There is a general complaint by the histo- 
rians of this age, of the ignorance and ungodly 
lives of the clergy and monks. Such was the 
ignorance of the clergy in many places, that few 
of them were able to read or write, or to express 
their thoughts with accuracy and precision. In 
the council of Pavia, A. D. 850, bishops were for- 
bidden to keep hounds and horses for hunting; 
or to have superfluous trains of horses and mules, 
and gaudy dresses, for vain display. The council 
of Aix-la-Chapelle, A. D. 836, forbade bishops 
getting drunk. They complain that some neglect- 
ed their charges, and travelled here and there, not 
from necessity, but to gratify their avarice or love 
of pleasure. Of the presbyters, and inferior cler- 
gy, they complain that they kept women in their 
houses, to the scandal of the ministry, notwith- 
standing the attempts of former councils and prin- 
ces to remove the evil. Also, that presbyters turn 
bailiffs, frequent taverns, pursue filthy lucre, prac- 
tise usury, conduct shamefully and lewdly in the 



NINTH CENTURY. 131 

houses they visit, and do not blush to indulge in 
revelry and drunkenness. They say of the nun- 
neries, that in some places, they seemed to be rather 
brothels than monasteries. The council of Mentz, 
A. D. 888, decreed that the clergy be wholly for- 
bidden to have females resident in their houses. 

Various causes operated to produce this ignorant 
and degraded state of the clergy ; among others, 
such as the following — the calamities of the times, 
occasioned by the incursions and depredations of 
the plundering Normans, and the perpetual wars 
between Lewis the Meek, and his sons and poster- 
ity ; the gross ignorance of the nobility, and the 
vast wealth possessed by the churches and monas- 
teries. If the son of a high nobleman wanted en- 
ergy and talent necessary to qualify him for other 
employments, an elevated place was sought for 
him among the dignitaries of the church. The 
patrons of churches, not wishing to have their 
own vices reproved and exposed, gave the prefer- 
ence to weak, ignorant, and inefficient men, for 
parish ministers, and guardians of the souls of 
men. The bishops and heads of the monasteries, 
held much real or landed estate, by feudal tenure ; 
and therefore, whenever a war broke out, they were 
summoned to the field with the quota of soldiers 
which they were bound to furnish to their sove- 
reigns. 

IV. Between Leo IV. who died, A. D. 855, and 
Benedict III., a woman, it is said, who concealed 
her sex, and assumed the name of John, made 
good her way to the pontifical throne by her learn- 
ing and genius, and governed the church for more 
than two years, with reputation. The truth of this 
story has been much disputed ; and both sides of 
the question have had many and able advocates. 



132 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

" During the five subsequent centuries," says 
Dr. Mosheim, " the witnesses to this extraordina- 
ry event are without number ; nor did any one 
prior to the reformation by Luther, regard the thing 
as either incredible, or disgraceful to the church. 
But in the seventeenth century, learned men, not 
only among the Roman Catholics, but others also, 
exerted all the powers of their ingenuity, both to 
invalidate the testimony, on which the truth of the 
story rests, and to confute it by an accurate com- 
putation of dates. But there still are very learned 
men, who, while they concede that much false- 
hood is mixed with the truth, maintain that the 
controversy is not wholly settled. Something must 
necessarily have taken place at Rome, to give rise 
to this most uniform report of so many ages ; but 
what it was that occurred, does not yet appear." 

V. The Roman pontiffs were elected by the vote 
of the whole body of the clergy and people of 
Rome ; but the emperors must approve of their ap- 
pointment before they were consecrated. Few of 
those who were raised to that high office, in this 
centuiy, can be commended for their learning, 
wisdom, or virtue ; on the contrary, most of them, 
by their numerous vices, their arrogance, and 
lust of power, have entailed disgrace upon their 
memory. 

The vices, and general profligacy of the Roman 
pontiffs did not, however, in these unhappy times, 
prevent the increase of their power and authority, 
both in church and state. They took advantage 
of the violent contests that arose among the de- 
scendants of Charlemagne, to increase their polit- 
ical influence. They began to inculcate the doc- 
trine, that in religious matters their authority was 
supreme — " That the bishop of Rome was consti- 



NINTH CENTURY. 133 

tuted, by Jesus Christ, a legislator, and judge over 
the whole church, and therefore, that other bishops 
derived all their authority solely from him ; and 
that councils could decide nothing, without his di- 
rection and approbation." To support this high 
claim, there was need of ancient documents and 
records, by which it might be defended against the 
assaults of opposers. These were soon forged and 
furnished, in sufficient number, by the monks. The 
decrees of Councils, never before heard of, were 
now discovered ; by which the universal suprem- 
acy of the pope was established from the earliest 
times. The French bishops made vigorous op- 
position to these forgeries; but they were put 
down by the pertinacity of the Roman pontiffs. 
And these latter did not fail to improve them, to 
the overthrow of the ancient system of church gov- 
ernment, the weakening of the authority of bishops, 
the increase of their own revenues and emolu- 
ments, and the abridging of the prerogatives of 
kings and princes ; of which the history of sub- 
sequent centuries will furnish sufficient proof. 

VI. Monkery in this age, was in the highest 
repute. Many examples occurred, durincr this 
century, in Italy, France, Spain and Germany, 
of kings, and dukes, and counts, abandoning their 
honours and their wealth, and voluntarily retiring 
to monasteries, to devote themselves to the service 
of God. And many, who in their lifetime, could 
not consent to abandon society, would yet demand 
the monastic garb, when dying, and actually put 
it on before they left the world ; that they might 
enjoy the prayers, and spiritual succour of this 
blessed fraternity. Such was the estimation in 
which they were held, that abbots and monks 
12 



134 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

were often employed by emperors and kings, to 
perform the functions of ambassadors, commis- 
sioners, judges, and ministers of state. Yet they 
who conferred such honours upon" monks, and the 
monastic life, did not deny that most of that class 
lived vicious lives. Lewis the Meek, especially, 
made efforts to reform them, and to bring them 
back to a strict observance of their monastic rules. 
He employed one Benedict, a man distinguished 
for piety and the fear of God, to reform the mon- 
asteries, first in Aquitaine, and then throughout 
the kingdom of France. He laboured faithfully 
in this way, and succeeded in banishing the greater 
vices, and introducing a stricter and more uniform 
discipline among them ; but from various causes, 
it gradually declined again, so that in a little 
while, it was no better than before. 

VII. Relics, in this age, were in great repute, 
and were sought with great diligence. Many 
made long journeys to the East in order to procure 
them. Nor did they return empty. The crafty 
Greeks always found means to furnish them with 
spurious relics, in exchange for their genuine coin. 
These relics were regarded as possessing wonder- 
ful efficacy in protecting from dangers, sickness, 
&c, and especially against the assaults of malig- 
nant spirits ; so that scarcely any one ventured to 
be without something of the kind. Great reliance 
too was placed upon the patronage of the saints. 
Without the patronage of some glorified saint, 
they believed that they should never be able to 
find God propitious to them. Each separate 
church, therefore, and almost every individual 
person, sought for some particular and appropri- 
ate patron. New tutelar saints, therefore, were 



NINTH CENTURY. 135 

created almost every day. And in order that 
there might be enough to supply the wants of the 
people, the monks wrote the lives of many that 
never lived. 

VIII. Learning in the ninth century, was in a 
very low and languishing state. In the East, 
there were some who distinguished themselves for 
their learning, particularly Photius, patriarch of 
Constantinople. The Arabians, or Saracens, be- 
gan in this century to cultivate the sciences exten- 
sively. Charlemagne and his successors, Lewis 
the Meek, and Charles the Bald, patronized learn- 
ing and learned men ; and established schools in 
many places for the instruction of the youth. In 
England, king Alfred the Great was a great culti- 
vator and promoter of learning. He may be 
regarded as the founder of the University of 
Oxford. 

Few among the Greeks attempted to interpret 
the Scriptures ; and the most of those who did, 
contented themselves with collecting passages 
from the writings of the ancient fathers, and at- 
taching them to the declarations of the sacred 
volume. This species of exposition of Scripture, 
compiled from the writings of the fathers, were 
called catenae, or chains. Among the Latins, the 
interpreters of Scripture were far more numerous, 
than among the Greeks. Charlemagne, in the 
preceding century, had awakened an ardour for 
the study and exposition of the sacred volume. 
Some few of these were not without merit, but the 
most of them were either compilers from the 
fathers, or such as sought for mystical, recondite 
senses of Scripture. About the number of these 
senses, they were not agreed ; some maintaining 



136 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

that there were three, others, four or jive, and 
others, seven. The doctrines of religion were es- 
tablished by authority, not of the Scriptures, but 
of the ancient fathers and councils. John Scotus 
Erigena, a distinguished scholar of the age, ven- 
tured to explain the doctrines of Christianity in a 
philosophical manner. But this met with general 
disapprobation ; for the divines of that age would 
allow no place for reason and philosophy, in mat- 
ters of religion. The mystic theology, that had 
been long in vogue in the East, became popular 
in the West in the ninth century, in consequence 
of the introduction of the works of Dionysius, and 
their translation into the Latin language. 

IX. The controversy about the worship of im- 
ages continued to be fiercely agitated among the 
Greeks, during a great part of this century. The 
emperors were generally opposed to the worship 
of images ; while the bishops and especially the 
monks, were generally in favour of it. The em- 
peror Leo, the x\rmenian, assembled a council at 
Constantinople, A. D r 814, in which the decrees 
of the Nicene council, held in the preceding cen- 
tury, in favour of image worship, were rescinded ; 
but no penal laws were enacted against the wor- 
shippers of them. Michael, the Stammerer, the 
successor of Leo, attempted to pursue a mild and 
gentle course ; but was compelled to depart from 
it, and to chastise the restless faction that served 
images, and especially the turbulent monks. — 
Among the uses made of their images were the 
following. " They lighted candles before them ; 
burned incense to them ; sung to their praise ; 
made supplications to them ; used them as spon- 
sors for their baptized children ; scraped off the 
colours from the pictures, and mixed them with 






NINTH CENTURY. 137 

the wine of the eucharist ; and placed the bread 
of benediction in the hands of the images, in order 
to receive it as from them." The decisions of the 
Nicene council were re-established by a council 
held at Constantinople, A. D. 869, and image-wor- 
ship was restored among the Greeks. Thus the 
cause of image-worship at last gained the victory, 
after a contest of more than a hundred years ; and 
obtained a footing in all the East, except in the 
church of Armenia. In the West, considerable 
opposition was made to image-worship ; although 
it was warmly patronized by the Roman pontiffs. 
Most of the European Christians took a middle 
ground between the Iconoclasts, and the image- 
worshippers ; and thought they might be used as 
helps to the memory, but not worshipped. A 
council, assembled at Paris, A. D. 824, decided 
that the images of Christ and the saints were not 
indeed to be cast out of the temples, yet that re- 
ligious worship should by no means be paid to 
them. But in this as in other matters, the author- 
ity and influence of the popes finally prevailed ; 
and the worship of images was established through- 
out the West. 

The controversy which commenced in the pre- 
ceding century, respecting the procession of the 
Holy Ghost, broke out in this century with greater 
vehemence, and became general between the whole 
Latin and Greek church. The Greeks maintained 
that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father 
only ; the Latins, that he proceeds from the Father 
and the Son, which they expressed by adding to 
the creed the words filioque. The dispute, there- 
fore, was about these single words ; which di- 
vides the Latin and Greek churches to the present 
day. 

12* 



138 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

Besides these old controversies, a new one 
arose among the Latins, respecting the manner 
in which the body and blood of Christ are present 
in the Lord's supper. The faith of the church 
upon this point, previously to this time, had not 
been particularly defined ; nor had any council 
prescribed any particular mode of belief upon the 
subject. But in the year 831, Paschasius Rad- 
bert, a monk and abbot of Corbey, broached the 
doctrine of what has been since called transub- 
stantiation. He taught " that in the Lord's sup- 
per, after the consecration, there remained only 
the form and appearance of bread and wine ; and 
that the real body, or the flesh and blood of Christ, 
were present ; and, indeed, the identical body, 
that was born of the virgin, suffered on the cross , 
and arose from the tomb? This seemed to be 
new and strange doctrine to many, especially the 
last part of it. A number of opponents were 
called out, among whom were Ratramn, and John 
Scotus ; but they also differed among themselves. 
The disputants in this controversy, c*s is common, 
taxed each other with odious consequences, grow- 
ing out of their opinions. 

X. Another controversy arose at this same 
time respecting divine grace and predestiiiation. 
One Godeschalcus, a Saxon of noble birth, but a 
monk, maintained that God had predestinated 
some to everlasting life, and others to the punish- 
ments of hell. He was first condemned by Mau- 
rus, in a council held at Mentz, A. D. 848 ; and 
again by Hincmar, who was a friend of Maurus, 
and archbishop of Rheims in France. As he 
would not renounce his sentiments, which he said, 
and said truly, were those of Augustine, Hincmar 
deprived him of his priestly office, ordered him to 



NINTH CENTURY. 139 

be severely whipped, and then to be shut up in 
prison. There he remained near twenty years 
until his death ; retaining firmly to the last, the 
sentiments he had embraced. But this by no 
means settled the controversy. 

While Godeschalcus lay in prison, his cause was 
defended with energy by many able and discerning 
men, both orally and in writing, while others 
maintained that both he and his opinions were 
justly dealt with. The contest growing warm, 
Charles the Bald, in the year 853, ordered a coun- 
cil to be held at Chiersey, in which, through the 
influence of Hincmar, the decision of the former 
council was confirmed ; and Godeschalcus was 
again condemned as a heretic. This council set 
forth their creed on the subject of dispute in the 
four following articles. 

1. " Almighty God created man without sin, 
upright, endued with freewill ; and placed him in 
Paradise ; and purposed his continuance in the 
holiness of uprightness. Man, abusing freewill, 
sinned, and fell, and the whole human race became 
a mass of corruption. But the good and righteous 
God elected, out of that mass of perdition, accor- 
ding to his foreknowledge, those whom he predes- 
tinated unto eternal life through grace, and fore- 
ordained eternal life for them : but the others, 
whom in his righteous judgment he left in the mass 
of perdition, he foresaw, would perish; but did not 
fore-ordain, that they should perish ; yet being 
just, he fore-ordained eternal punishment to be 
their portion. And thus we affirm but one pre- 
destination of God, which relates either to the 
gift of grace, or to the retributions of justice. 

2. " We lost freedom of will, in the first man ; 
which we recover by Christ, our Lord ; and we 



140 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

have freewill to good, when prevented and aid- 
ed by grace ; and have freewill to evil, when 
forsaken of grace. That we have freewill, is be- 
cause we are made free by grace, and are healed 
of corruption by it. 

3. " Almighty God wills, that all men, without 
exception, should become saved ; and yet all men 
will not be saved. And that some are saved, arises 
from the gratuity of Him who saves ; but that some 
perish, arises from their desert of perdition. 

4. " As there never was, is, or will be, a man, 
whose nature was not assumed by our Lord Jesus 
Christ ; so there never was, is, or will be, a man, 
for whom Christ has not died ; and this, notwith- 
standing all are not redeemed by the mystery of 
his passion. That all are not redeemed by the 
mystery of his passion, is not owing to the [limit- 
ed] magnitude and value of the price ; but is the 
fault of unbelievers, or of them who do not believe 
with the faith that works by love. For the cup 
of human salvation, which is provided for our 
weakness, and has divine efficacy, contains what 
might benefit all ; but if it be not drunk, it will 
not produce healing." 

But another council, assembled at Valence, in 
the year 855, in which Remigius, bishop of Lyons, 
presided, set forth other decisions, in opposition to 
the former, and sustained the cause of Godeschal- 
cus. With the decisions of this council, coincid- 
ed also those of the council of Langres, A. D. 
859 ; and those of the council of Toul, A. D. 860, 
composed of the bishops of fourteen provinces. 
The council of Valence published twenty-three 
canons ; five of which contain the doctrinal views 
of the friends and defenders of Godeschalcus. 
The substance of them is as follows. 



NINTH CENTURY. 141 

Can. II. "That God foresees, and eternally fore- 
saw, both the good which the righteous will per- 
form, and the evil which the wicked will do." Dan. 
ii. 29. " We hold faithfully, and judge it should 
be held, that he foresaw, that the righteous would 
certainly become righteous, through his grace ; 
and by the same grace, would obtain eternal bless- 
edness ; and he foresaw, that the wicked would be 
wicked, through their own perverseness ; and 
would be such as must be condemned by his justice 
to eternal punishment," according to Psalm lxii. 
12, and Rom. ii. T — -9, and 2 Thess. i. 7—10. 
" Nor has the prescience of God imposed upon 
any bad man a necessity, that he cannot be other 
than bad ; but what he would become, by his own 
free volition, God, as one who knows all things be- 
fore they come to pass, foresaw, by his omnipo- 
tent and unchangeable majesty. Nor do we be- 
lieve, that any one is condemned by a divine pre- 
judication ; but according to the deserts of his 
own wickedness. Nor do the wicked perish, be- 
cause they could not become good ; but because 
they would not become good, and through their 
own fault, remained in the mass of condemnation, 
or in their original and actual sin. 

Can. III. " As to the predestination of God, we 
decide, and faithfully decide, according to the au- 
thority of the apostle ;" Rom. ix. 21—23. " We 
confidently confess a predestination of the elect, 
unto life ; and a predestination of the wicked, unto 
death. But in the election of those to be saved, 
the mercy of God precedes their good deserts ; and 
in the condemnation of those who are to perish, 
their ill deserts precede the righteous judgment of 
God. In his predestination, God only determined 
what he himself would do, either in his gratuitous 



142 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

mercy, or in his righteous judgment." — " In the 
wicked, he foresaw their wickedness, because it is 
from themselves ; he did not predestinate it, be- 
cause it is not from him. The punishment indeed, 
consequent upon their ill desert, he foresaw, being 
a God who foresees all things ; and also predesti- 
nated, because he is a just God, in whom, as St. - 
Augustine says, there is both a fixed purpose, and 
a certain foreknowledge, in regard to all things 
whatever." — " But that some are predestinated to 
vnckedness, by a divine power, so that they cannot 
be of another character, we not only do not believe ; 
but if there are those who will believe so great a 
wrong, we, as well as the council of Orange, with 
all detestation, declare them anathema" 

Can. IV. In this canon, they disapproved of the 
sentiments of some, who held a that the blood of 
Christ was shed, even for those ungodly ones who 
had been punished with eternal damnation, from 
the beginning of the world to the time of Christ's 
passion." And they held, " that this price was 
paid (only) for those of whom our Lord has said, 
" As Moses lifted up the serpent," &c. " that every 
one that believeth in him" &c. John iii. 14 — 16. 
" And the apostle says, Christ was once offered to 
bear the sins of many" — " Moreover, the four ar- 
ticles, adopted without due consideration by the 
synod of our brethren, (at Chiersey, A. D. 853,) 
on account of their inutility, and indeed their inju- 
rious tendency, and error, contrary to the truth ; 
as also those other, (of John Scotus,) unfitly set 
forth in xix. syllogisms : and in which, notwith- 
standing the boast, that they are not the result of 
philosophy, there appears to be rather the fabrica- 
tion of the devil, than an exhibition of the faith ; 
we wholly explode, as not to be listened to by the 



NINTH CENTURY. 143 

faithful ; and we enjoin, by the authority of the 
Holy Spirit, that such, and all similar statements, 
be looked upon as dangerous, and to be avoided. 
And the introducers of (such) novelties, we judge, 
ought to be censured." 

Can. V. This canon maintains the necessity of 
a saint's persevering in holiness, in order to his 
salvation. 

Can. VI. In regard to saving grace, " and free- 
will, which was impaired by sin, in the first man ; 
but is recovered and made whole again, by Jesus 
Christ, in all believers in him," this council hold 
with various councils and pontiffs ; and reject the 
" trash vended by various persons." 

XI. The contests between the pontiffs of Rome 
and Constantinople, were kept up with great vio- 
lence ; and before the close of this century, seem 
to have issued in something like a final separation 
between the Latin and Greek churches. Doctrines 
were brought into the dispute, but the chief cause of 
contention, was the extent of territory and prero- 
gative. The Roman pontiff claimed the provinces 
that had been wrested from him in the preceding 
century ; namely, Illyricum, Macedonia, Epirus, 
Achaia, Thessaly and Sicily, but could never re- 
cover them. Pope Nicholas I. in a council at 
Rome, A. D. 862, pronounced Photius, bishop of 
Constantinople, together with his adherents, to be 
unworthy of Christian communion. Photius gave 
back the same measure he had received, and ex- 
communicated Nicholas, in the council of Constan- 
tinople, A. D. 866. Photius charged the Romans 
with five enormities, which he esteemed very great ; 
and by which we may see the difference then ex- 
isting between the East and West in regard to doc- 
trines. " Firsts that they deemed it proper to fast 



144 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

on the seventh day of the week, or the Sabbath. 
Secondly, that in the first week of lent, they per- 
mitted milk and cheese. Thirdly, that they wholly 
disapproved of the marriage of priests. Fourth- 
ly, that they thought none but the bishops could an- 
oint the baptized with the holy oil or chrism ; 
and of course that they anointed a second time, 
those who had been anointed by presbyters. And 
fifthly, that they had adulterated the Constantino- 
politan creed, by adding to it the words filioque ; 
and thus taught, that the Holy Spirit did not pro- 
ceed from the Father only, but also from the Son." 
XII. The public rites and ceremonies continued 
to be increased ; and a number undertook to pub- 
lish treatises in explanation of them. The new 
saints canonized, greatly increased the number of 
saints' days. The great object was to please the 
eyes and ears of the people, to excite an interest 
and keep up attention. Hence the splendid furni- 
ture of the temples, the numerous wax candles 
burning at mid-day, the multitude of pictures and 
statues, the decorations of the altars, the frequent 
processions, the splendid dresses of the priests, and 
masses appropriate to the honour of saints. The 
heathen practice of trial by ordeal, continued to 
exist in most countries of Europe ; and the church 
prescribed the particular ceremonies to be used on 
the occasion. The chief of these modes of trial, 
were those by water, by single combat, by red hot 
iron, and by a cross. The ordeal by immersion 
in cold water, was very common in this and the 
following centuries ; especially for criminals of a 
vulgar rank in society. It was sanctioned by pub- 
lic law in most countries of Europe. " The per- 
son to be tried was brought to the church, and most 
solemnly adjured to confess the fact, if he was 






NINTH CENTURY. 145 

guilty. If he would not confess, he received the 
sacrament, was sprinkled with holy water, and 
conducted to a river or lake. The priest then ex- 
orcised the water, charging it not to receive the 
criminal if he were guilty. The criminal was 
now stripped and bound ; and a rope was tied to 
him, by which to draw him out, if he sunk to a 
certain depth. When cast into the water, if he 
floated, he was accounted guilty ; but if he sunk 
to the depth marked on the rope, (sometimes a 
yard and a half,) he was instantly drawn out, and 
was accounted innocent." The ordeal by hot wa- 
ter was nearly as much used, and was considered 
rather more suitable for persons of quality. After 
preparatory ceremonies similar to those already 
described, " the priest heated a caldron of water 
until it boiled. Then taking it off the fire, he im- 
mersed in it a stone, which he held suspended by 
a string, to the depth of one, two or three palms ; 
and the criminal must thrust in his naked hand 
and arm, and seizing the stone, pull it out. His 
hand and arm were immediately wrapped up in 
linen cloths, and a bag drawn over the whole and 
sealed. After three days, the hand and arm were 
examined, and if found not scalded, the man was 
accounted innocent." The trial by single combat, 
although not particularly sanctioned by the church, 
is one of those remnants of barbarism that have 
come down to our times. The ordeal by red hot 
iron, " was esteemed more honourable, than the 
ordeals by water. Sometimes the person walked 
barefoot over nine or twelve red hot plough -shares, 
treading on each. But more frequently he carried 
a hot iron in his naked hands, nine times the length 
of his foot. The religious rites attending this or- 
deal, were very similar to those of the ordeal by 
13 



146 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

hot water. The form of ordeal by the cross, is 
more uncertain. Some there were, who opposed 
these most unrighteous and fallacious modes of 
trying criminals, as Agobard, bishop of Lyons ; 
but others, as Hincmar, archbishop of Rheims, ap- 
proved and defended both the ordeals, and the trial 
by single combat. 

XIII. The ancient Christian sects still existed 
in many places. The Nestorians, and Monophy- 
sites, lived securely under the protection of the 
Arabians ; and, attentive to their own interests, did 
not cease their efforts for the conversion of the na- 
tions still in pagan darkness. The Greeks were 
engaged, during a great part of this century, in 
cruel wars, with the Paulicians, a sect, said by their 
enemies to be allied to the Manichceans, and re- 
siding especially in Armenia. This unhappy peo- 
ple deserving a better fate, were cruelly persecuted 
by the Greek emperors, and frequently compelled 
to seek refuge among the Saracens, with whom 
they entered into alliance, and in turn made fierce 
war upon the Greek provinces, several of which 
were ruined, and an immense number of persons 
cut off on both sides. What were the peculiar 
doctrines of this numerous sect, does not certain- 
ly appear ; only that they dissented from the su- 
perstitions and corruptions of the times. The 
Greek writers charge them with the following : — 
1. They denied that this lower and visible world 
was created by the supreme God ; and distinguish- 
ed the creator of the world and of human bodies, 
from the God whose residence is in heaven. It 
was on account of this dogma, that the Greeks 
accounted them Manichreans. — 2. They contemn- 
ed the virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ : 
that is, they refused to worship her ; and held that 



TENTH CENTURY. 147 

she had other children by Joseph, after the birth 
of the Saviour, and is not therefore still a virgin. — 
3. They did not celebrate the Lord's supper ; that 
is, they did not use the superstitious additions to 
it then observed. — 4. They loaded the cross with 
contumely ; that is, they refused to worship the 
wood of the cross. — 5. They rejected, as did near- 
ly all the Gnostics, the books composing the Old 
Testament. — 6. They excluded presbyters from 
the administrations of the church. They who are 
acquainted with the spirit of controversy, especial- 
ly among the dominant party, in an intolerant age, 
can judge how little such charges are to be de- 
pended on, when the accused party are not heard. 



CENTURY X. 

1. External state of Christianity .—2. Literature.— 3. Wretched 
morals of the clergy. — 4. Doctrinal perversions and extrava- 
gances. — 5. Ceremonies.— 6. Paulicians. 

I. It is agreed on all hands, that the state of 
Christianity in the tenth century, was most wretch- 
ed. Ignorance and superstition abounded ; the 
state of morals, both amongst the clergy and laity, 
was extremely low ; priestcraft was the order of 
the day ; and vital godliness was scarcely to be 
found. Yet the church continued to extend her 
borders. " The Nestorians, living in Chaldea, in- 
troduced Christianity into Tartary proper, beyond 
mount Imaus, where the people lived entirely un- 
cultivated and uncivilized. Near the end of the 
century, the same sect spread the knowledge of 



148 ECCLESIASTICAL HIST0EY. 

the gospel among that powerful horde of Tartars 
or Turks, which was called Karit, and which bor- 
dered on Cathay or the northern part of China." 
It seems that a considerable part of Tartary, or 
Asiatic Scythia, from this time, lived under bish- 
ops sent among them by the pontiff of the Nesto- 
rians. Poland and Russia received Christianity 
in this century. The Christian worship was es- 
tablished in Hungary, near the close of this cen- 
tury, by Stephen, one of their chieftains, whose 
zeal and activity in the cause, procured him the 
honour and title of Saint. Denmark, Norway, 
Sweden, the Orkney islands, Iceland, and Green- 
land, received Christianity during this century ; 
also several of the provinces of Germany, where 
paganism had still existed. Toward the close of 
this century the kings and princes of Europe, be- 
gan to think of the project of a holy war, to be 
waged against the Mohammedans, for the purpose 
of wresting out of their hands, the Holy Land. 
Christians were still harassed by the Saracens, 
and the nations that were still pagan. Some of 
these, as Denmark, until subdued by Otto the 
Great, the Prussians, Slavonians, and Bohemians, 
laboured with great violence to root out Christian- 
ity ; and frequently laid waste with fire and sword, 
in the most distressing manner, the neighbouring 
provinces, in which it had been received. Their 
own peace and safety was a strong motive to 
Christian princes to use all means in their power 
for the conversion of those nations that were still 
pagan. 

II. The tenth century, with regard to literature, 
may with propriety be called the iron age. Leo 
the Wise, and his son Constantine, emperors of the 
East, cultivated learning themselves, and were so- 



TENTH CENTURY. 149 

licitous to revive literature and the arts. But there 
were few of the Greeks who copied their exam- 
ple. In Egypt, though groaning under oppres- 
sion, there were some learned men, particularly 
Eutychius, bishop of Alexandria. Among the 
Latins, schools existed in the monasteries, and in 
the cities in which the bishops resided ; but little 
else was taught in them, than such learning as was 
thought to be of importance in matters of religion. 
Near the end of the century, the cause of learning 
was promoted in Europe, by Gerbert, a French- 
man ; known among the Roman pontiffs as bear- 
ing the name of Sylvester II. He was a man of 
great genius, and pursued successfully all branch- 
es of learning, Gerbert went into Spain, as was 
common in this age, to enjoy the instructions of 
the Arabian doctors. For the knowledge of medi- 
cine, philosophy, astronomy, and mathematics that 
existed from the tenth century onwards, Europe 
is chiefly indebted to the Saracens, or Arabs of 
Spain. 

III. The profligacy and wickedness of the cler- 
gy of this age were truly wonderful. " Nothing 
is more incontrovertible," says Mosheim, " than 
that the clergy, both in the East and in the Wesr, 
were composed principally of men who were illit- 
erate, stupid, ignorant of every thing pertaining 
to religion, libidinous, superstitious, and flagitious. 
Nor can any one doubt, that those who wished to 
be regarded as the fathers and guardians of the 
universal church, were the principal cause of these 
evils. Nothing certainly can be conceived of, so 
filthy, or so criminal and wicked, that these su- 
preme bishops of the church would deem incom- 
patible with their characters ; nor was any govern- 
ment ever so loaded with vices of every kind, as 
13* 



150 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

was that which bore the appellation of the most 
holy." Theophylact, metropolitan of Constanti- 
nople, made traffic of every thing sacred, and cared 
for nothing but his hounds and horses. It is said 
that he kept two thousand horses, which he fed on 
nuts and fruits, steeped in odorous wine ! The 
following is the language of Baronius, a distin- 
guished Roman Catholic writer, in regard to this 
period. " It is usual to denominate it the iron age, 
on account of its barbarism, and barrenness of all 
good ; also the leaden age, on account of abound- 
ing wickedness, by which it was deformed ; and 
the dark age, on account of the scarcity of wri- 
ters. One can scarcely believe, nay absolutely 
cannot credit, without ocular demonstration, what 
unworthy conduct, what base and enormous deeds, 
what execrable and abominable transactions, dis- 
graced the holy catholic see, which is the pivot on 
which the whole catholic church revolves ; when 
temporal princes, who, though called Christian, 
were most cruel tyrants, arrogated to themselves 
the election of the Roman pontiffs. Alas, the 
shame ! Alas, the mischief! What monsters, hor- 
rible to behold, were then raised to the holy see, 
which angels revere ! What evils did they per- 
petrate ; what horrible tragedies ensued ! With 
what pollutions was this see, though itself without 
spot or wrinkle, then stained ; what corruptions 
infested it ; what filthiness defiled it, and hence 
what marks of perpetual infamy are visible upon 
it !" Pope John XII. was deposed by a council at 
Rome, A. D. 963, under charge of many atrocious 
crimes. Notwithstanding their profligacy and 
crimes, the Roman pontiffs, by one means and an- 
other, continued to gain authority and influence. 
They began in this age to be styled bishops oftJie 



TENTH CENTURY. 151 

world, instead of bishops of Rome ; and some, 
even among the French clergy, conceded what 
had never been heard before, that bishops receive 
indeed all their power from God, but only through 
St. Peter. The writers of this century are few, 
and of little worth. 

IV. In this age, the most important doctrines 
of Christianity were greatly perverted and obscur- 
ed by human inventions and additions. The es- 
sence of religion was supposed to consist in the 
worship of images, in honouring departed saints, 
in searching for and preserving sacred relics, and 
in heaping riches upon the priests and monks. 
The fires of purgatory, which are to burn out the 
stains remaining upon human souls after death, 
were an object of intense dread to all ; nay, were 
more feared than even the punishments of hell. 
For the latter, it was supposed, might be easily es- 
caped, if they only died rich in the prayers and 
merits of the priests, or had some saint to inter- 
cede for them ; but not so the former. This dread 
of purgatory, which the priests found so conveni- 
ent to turn to their own account, they endeavour- 
ed continually, by their discourses, by fables, and 
fictitious miracles, to increase as much as possible. 
Controversy in this leaden age, seems almost to 
have slept from the mere want of knowledge and 
ability to cany it on. The doctrine of transub- 
stantiation, was not yet universally adopted, but 
the Latin doctors held different opinions upon the 
subject. That it was at that time unknown to the 
English, has been shown by their public homilies. 
" Among the opinions which dishonoured and dis- 
quieted the Latin churches, in this century, none 
produced more excitement than the belief that the 
day of final consummation was at hand. This be- 



152 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

lief was derived, in the preceding century, from the 
Apocalypse of John, xx. 2, 3,4, and being advanced 
by many in this century, it spread over all Eu- 
rope, and excited immense terror and alarm 
among the people. For they supposed that John 
had explicitly foretold, that after a thousand years 
from the birth of Christ, Satan would be let loose, 
Antichrist would appear, and the end of the world 
would come. — Hence, immense numbers, transfer- 
ring their property to the churches and monaste- 
ries, left all, and proceeded to Palestine, where 
they supposed Christ would descend from heaven 
to judge the world. Others by a solemn vow, 
consecrated themselves and all they possessed to 
the churches, the monasteries, and the priests ; 
serving them in the character of slaves, and per- 
forming the daily tasks assigned them ; for they 
hoped the Supreme Judge would be more favoura- 
ble to them, if they made themselves servants to 
his servants. Hence also, when an eclipse of the 
sun or moon took place, most people betook them- 
selves to caverns, rocks and dens. Very many 
also gave a large part of their estates to God and 
the saints ; that is, to the priests and monks. And 
in many places edifices, both sacred and secular, 
were suffered to go to decay ; and in some instan- 
ces were actually pulled down, from the expectation 
that they would no longer be needed. This general 
delusion was opposed, indeed, by a few wiser indi- 
viduals ; but nothing could overcome it, till the 
century had closed. 

V. Ceremonies, already so numerous, were still 
increased during this century. " The many new- 
made citizens of heaven, who were daily enrolled, 
required the institution of new festal days, new 
forms of worship, and new religious rites." An 



TENTH CENTURY. 153 

annual festival was instituted, near the close of the 
century, in memory of all departed souls. The 
worship of the Virgin Mary, already extravagant, 
was carried much further than before. They ab- 
stained from eating flesh on Saturday, in honour 
of the holy virgin. The daily Office of St. Mary 
was introduced ; and traces of the Rosary and 
Crown of St. Mary, as they are called, are to be 
found in this century. For the benefit of the 
reader, I will add a description of the Rosary, 
from M' Gavin's Protestant. " It is a large chap- 
let, consisting of one hundred and fifty beads, 
which make so many Aves. Every ten beads 
divided by one, something larger, make a Pater. 
The fifteen large beads are the symbols of fifteen 
mysteries, which are so many lively images, as it 
were, in which are to be discerned the intentions 
of the Eternal Father in the interposed birth of his 
Son, the casualties that befel him in his infancy, 
and not only in the private and unknown part of 
his life, but also in the glorious, and immortal part 
of it. The common chaplets contain only fifty 
Ave Marias, and five Paternosters. Before the 
person begins to repeat his rosary, he must take 
it and cross himself. He must in the next place, 
repeat the Apostle's creed, to put himself in a 
proper disposition for prayer ; after which, he 
must say a Pater and three Aves, on account of 
the three relations, which the blessed Virgin bears 
to the three persons in the sacred Trinity." 

VI. We read of no new sects, of any impor- 
tance, in this age. It seems there were still some 
in Italy, who held the Arian doctrine. The Paul- 
icians were numerous in Syria, and in Thrace. 
" From Thrace they removed into Bulgaria and 
Slavonia ; in which countries they afterwards had 



154 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

a supreme pontiff of the sect; and they continued 
their residence there down to the times of the 
council of Basil, or to the fifteenth century. 
From Bulgaria, they migrated to Italy ; and 
thence spread into other countries of Europe, and 
gave much trouble to the Roman pontiffs." 



CENTURY XL 

1. Efforts to extend Christianity.— 2. The Crusades commen- 
ced — 3. Dictates of Hildebrand. — 4. Profligacy of the Monks. 
— 5. Arrogance of the Pope. — 6. Berengarius opposes Tran- 
substantiation. — 7. Paulicians migrate to the West. 

I. " The Hungarians, Danes, Poles, Russians, and 
other nations, who, in the preceding century, had 
received a kind of knowledge of the Christian re- 
ligion, could not universally be brought, in a short 
time, to prefer Christianity to the religions of their 
fathers. Therefore during the greater part of this 
century, their kings, with the teachers whom they 
drew around them, were occupied in gradually 
enlightening and converting these nations. In 
Tartary and the adjacent regions, the activity of 
the Nestorians continued daily to gain over more 
people to the side of Christianity. And such is 
the mass of testimony at the present day, that we 
cannot doubt, but that bishops of the highest order, 
or Metropolitans, with many inferior bishops sub- 
ject to them, were established at that period in 
the provinces of Cashgar, Nuacheta, Turkestan, 
Genda, Tangut, and others. Whence it will be 



ELEVENTH CENTURY. 155 

manifest, that there was a vast multitude of Christ- 
ians, in the eleventh and twelfth centuries in these 
countries ; which are now either devoted to Mo- 
hammedism, or worshippers of imaginary gods. 
And that all these Christians followed the Nesto- 
rian creed, and were subject to the supreme pon- 
tiff of the Nestorians residing in Chaldea, is so 
certain, as to be beyond all controversy." 

Efforts were made in this century, without 
much success, to convert the Prussians, and other 
nations in the north of Europe, that were still 
heathen. One Bruno, who assumed the name of 
Boniface, with eighteen companions, went as mis- 
sionaries from Germany into Prussia ; but, after 
some time, were all put to death by the Prussians. 
(A. D. 1006.) 

The Saracens, in the ninth century, had seized 
upon Sicily, and neither the Greeks nor Latins 
had hitherto been able to expel them, though they 
had frequently attempted it. " But in this century, 
(A. D. 1059,) Robert Guiscard, the Norman duke 
of Apulia, with his brother Roger, under the au- 
thority of the Roman pontiff Nicholas II. attacked 
them with great valour ; nor did Roger relinquish 
the war, till he had gained possession of the whole 
island, and cleared it of the Saracens. After this 
great achievement, in the year 1090, Roger re- 
stored the Christian religion, now almost extin- 
guished there by the Saracens, to its former dig- 
nity ; and established bishops, founded monasteries, 
erected magnificent churches, and put the clergy 
in possession of ample revenues and honours, 
which they enjoy to the present times." 

II. In this century commenced the war of the 
Crusades, For some time the plan of expelling 
the Mohammedans from Palestine had been in con- 



156 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORr. 

templation by the Roman pontiffs. Gregory VII. 
designed to engage personally in such a war, and 
for this purpose raised more than fifty thousand 
men ; but his controversy with the emperor Henry 
IV. obliged him to abandon the design. The peo- 
ple of Europe were first roused up to this by 
Peter, surnamed the Hermit. He was a French- 
man of Amiens, who visited Palestine in 1093, 
and was greatly affected with the vexations and 
oppressions which the Christians residing at the 
holy places suffered from the Mohammedans. 
Either fancying or pretending a divine influence, 
he travelled over Europe, calling upon princes 
and people to make war upon the tyrants of Pa- 
lestine, and rescue from their hands the holy se- 
pulchre. He carried with him an epistle on the 
subject, which he pretended came directly from 
heaven, addressed to all Christians. The public 
being thus excited, Urban II., in the year 1095, 
assembled a numerous council at Placentia, in 
which this holy war was recommended. It is said 
that there were present in this council, four thou- 
sand clergymen, and thirty thousand laymen, and 
that its sessions were held in the open air, because 
no church could contain them. But the business 
succeeded better at the council of Clermont, as- 
sembled soon after, and very numerously attended. 
Here a vast multitude, of ail ranks and ages, 
moved by the tumid eloquence of Urban, were 
ready to engage at once in a military expedition 
to Palestine, for the purpose of rescuing the Holy 
Land from the Turks. This host seemed a very 
formidable army in point of numbers, but was in 
reality very weak and pusillanimous : " for it was 
composed chiefly of monks, mechanics, farmers, 
persons averse from their regular occupations, 



ELEVENTH CENTURY. 157 

spendthrifts, speculators, prostitutes, boys, girls, 
servants, malefactors, and the lowest dregs of the 
idle populace, who hoped to make their fortunes." 
They were called Crusaders, not only because it 
was their object to rescue the cross of our Lord 
from the Turks, but also because they carried the 
cross upon their banners, and wore a white, red, 
or green cross, made of woollen cloth, and sol- 
lemnly consecrated, upon their right shoulders. 

In the year 1096, credible writers inform us, 
that an army of eight hundred thousand persons 
marched, by different routes, and under different 
leaders, to Constantinople ; that, having received 
instructions and aid from the Greek emperor, they 
might pass over into Asia. The first band of 
eighty thousand was led on by Peter the Hermit, 
girded with a rope. But this company, after com- 
mitting innumerable base deeds, were nearly all 
destroyed by the Hungarians and Turks. Other 
armies of these crusaders shared no better fate, 
who roamed about under unskilful leaders, plun- 
dering and laying waste the country wherever 
they came. The Greek emperor was not a little 
alarmed at the approach of this great army ; but 
his fears were dispelled when it had passed the 
Straits of Gallipolis, and landed in Bithynia. The 
crusaders first laid siege to Nice, the capital of 
Bithynia, which was taken in the year 1097. — 
They then proceeded on through Asia Minor into 
Syria, took Antioch, and Edessa ; and finally suc- 
ceeded in reducing the city of Jerusalem under 
their power. Here they established the seat of a 
new kingdom, and Godfrey of Bouillon, who was 
the best general among them, and commander-in- 
chief of the war, was declared the first king of 
Jerusalem. 

14 



158 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

By these wars, Europe was deprived of a large 
portion of its population, "and immense sums of 
money were exported to foreign countries ; and 
very many families previously opulent and power- 
ful, either became extinct, or were reduced to 
extreme poverty. For the heads of families either 
mortgaged or sold their territories, possessions, 
and estates, in order to defray the expense of their 
expedition ; while others imposed such intolerable 
burdens upon their vassals and tenants, as obliged 
them to abandon their houses and lands, and as- 
sume themselves the badge of the cross. A vast 
derangement of society, and a subversion of every 
thing, took place throughout Europe : not to men- 
tion the robberies, murders, and destructions of 
life and property, every where committed with 
impunity, by these soldiers of God and Jesus 
Christ, as they were called ; and the new, and 
often very grievous privileges and prerogatives to 
which these wars gave occasion." Nevertheless, 
these wars served greatly to increase the power of 
the Roman pontiffs, and in various ways to enrich 
the churches and monasteries. Superstition, al- 
ready extravagant, was now greatly increased 
among the Latins. The long list of tutelary 
saints, was augmented with new, and often ficti- 
tious saints, of Greek and Syrian origin ; and an 
immense number of ridiculous relics were im- 
ported to enrich the churches and chapels. Each 
one brought with him from Asia, as the richest 
treasure, the sacred relics, which he had purchased 
at a high price, of the fraudulent Greeks and 
Syrians, which he committed to the sacred charge 
of some church, or to be carefully preserved by 
the members of his own family. 

Learning in this age began to be somewhat 



ELEVENTH CENTURY. 159 

more cultivated in the West, especially in France. 
Some began to undertake the business of instruc- 
tion besides the monks. Dialectics, or Logic, 
was chiefly cultivated. But they who had a mind 
to prosecute a more thorough education, especially 
in the science of medicine, resorted to the schools 
of the Saracens, in Spain and Portugal. 

III. In this century the corruption of the clergy 
was very great. Violent factions were carried on 
at Rome between contending candidates for St. 
Peter's chair. Benedict IX. after being twice ex- 
pelled, by the citizens of Rome, for his flagitious 
conduct, from the papal dignity, seized upon it the 
third time, but was able to hold it but a little while. 
To remedy these evils, Nicholas II. changed the 
mode of electing the pope, from the people of 
Rome, to the College of Cardinals. In the year 
1073, Hildebrand was raised to the papal throne 
with the title of Gregory VII. He was a man of 
great parts and unbounded ambition ; and he ex- 
erted all his powers to bring every thing in church 
and state under the control of the papal see. His 
views and principles may be seen in those noted 
propositions, which from his name are called the 
Dictates of Hildebrand. The following are the 
principal propositions that compose these Dictates. 
1. " That the Romish church was founded by one 
Lord alone. 2. That the Roman pontiff alone is 
justly styled universal. 3. That he alone can 
depose bishops, and restore them. 4. That his 
legate has precedence of all bishops in a council, 
though he be of an inferior order ; and can issue 
sentence of deposition against them. 5. That the 
pope can depose absent persons. 6. That no per- 
son, among other things, may live under the same 
roof, with one excommunicated by the pope. 



160 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

7. That the pope alone is competent, as occasion 
may require to enact new laws, to gather new 
congregations — to divide rich bishoprics, or to 
unite poor ones. 8. That he alone can use the 
imperial insignia. 9. That princes should kiss 
his feet only. 10. That it is lawful for him to 
depose emperors. 11. That no council, without 
his order, is to be accounted a general council. 
12. That his sentence is not to be reviewed by 
any one ; while he alone can review the decisions 
of all others. 13. That he can be judged by no 
one. 14. That no one may presume to condemn 
a person, who appeals to the apostolic see. 
15. That the greater causes of every church, 
should be carried up to that see. 16. That the 
Romish church never erred ; nor will it, accor- 
ding to the Scriptures, ever err. 17. That with 
his license, subjects may impeach [their sove- 
reigns.] 16. That no one is to be accounted a 
catholic, who does not harmonize with the Romish 
church. 19. That he can absolve subjects from 
their allegiance to unrighteous rulers." — Greater 
power than all this, one could hardly desire. 

IV. Most writers of this age give evidence of 
the ignorance, the frauds, the dissoluteness, the 
quarrels, and the flagrant crimes of the greater 
part of the monks ; as well as the gross supersti- 
tion, licentiousness, and dissolute lives of the peo- 
ple at large. The great mass of the people, and 
even the clergy, secular as well as regular, were 
addicted to every species of vice. This general 
licentiousness, and impunity of all sort of wicked- 
ness, gave rise to chivalry, and the orders of 
knights-errant ; whose business it was to protect 
the weak, the poor, and especially females, against 
the insults and violence of the strong. This was 



ELEVENTH CENTURY. 161 

a laudable institution in those wretched times, 
when the energy of law was wholly prostrate, and 
those filling the office of judge, were incompetent 
to perform the duties of their stations. Yet the 
monastic orders were in the highest repute, and 
several new ones arose in this century that ac- 
quired great wealth and influence. The first of 
these was that of Clugni in France, who were 
called Cluniacensians : next were the Cister- 
cians : then the Grandmontains, whose rule 
was extremely rigorous : next the Carthusians : 
and lastly the order of St. Anthony, which was 
devoted to the receiving and curing diseased per- 
sons, and especially those affected with what was 
called, the holy, or St. Anthony' 's fire. 

V. Many of the priests, as yet, had their lawful 
wives, and concubinage was extensively practised. 
Gregory undertook to reform both these evils, as 
he regarded them ; which created great tumults 
in most countries of Europe. Many were willing 
rather to relinquish the priesthood, than to part 
with their wives. Simony also, or the sale of sa- 
cred offices to the highest bidder, as well as lay 
investiture by the ring and staff, or crosier, had 
become very common. These evils also Gregory 
undertook to correct, which produced violent and 
long continued contests. It was in these contests 
that Henry IV. king of the Romans, was com- 
pelled to humble himself before the haughty pre- 
late. " He obtained, indeed, though with difficulty, 
from the pontiff, then residing at the castle of Ca- 
nosa, with Matilda, the patroness of the church, 
the pardon of his sins, after standing, for three 
days together, in the depth of winter, in February, 
A. D. 1077, barefooted and bareheaded, and 
meanly clad, within the walls of the castle, pro- 
14 * 



162 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

fessing himself a penitent." The writers of this 
century, it is not necessary to mention. 

There were a few divines about the middle of 
this century, who ventured to apply the precepts 
of logic and metaphysics to the explanation of 
scriptural doctrines, and the confirmation of their 
own opinions. These were chiefly Berengarius, 
Lanfranc, and St. Anselm. From this proceeded 
what was afterwards called scholastic theology, 
which obtained so great reputation in the follow- 
ing centuries. — The contest between the Latin and 
Greek churches, which had been for some time 
suspended, was renewed in the year 1053, by the 
patriarch of Constantinople. Zeal for the truth 
was the pretext, but arrogance and ambition were 
the true cause. Both parties aimed at increasing 
their power, and extending the limits of their juris- 
diction. The legates of the Roman pontiff, fail- 
ing to effect a reconciliation, excommunicated the 
Greek patriarch and his adherents ; who, in turn, 
excommunicated the pope's legates, and all their 
friends and supporters. A subject of violent con- 
tention between the two parties was, that the La- 
tins used unleavened bread in the eucharist. It 
was also charged upon the Latins, that they did 
not abstain from things strangled, and from blood ; 
that their monks used lard, and allowed their breth- 
ren, when sick, to eat flesh ; that the bishops wore 
rings on their fingers, as if they were bridegrooms ; 
that their priests wore no beards, but shaved them ; 
and that in baptizing, they dipped the subject but 
once into the water. 

VI. The controversy respecting the manner in 
which the body and blood of Christ are present in 
the eucharist, was again revived about the middle 
of this century. Berengarius, a man of learning, 



ELEVENTH CENTURY. 163 

and venerable for the sanctity of his life, maintain- 
ed the opinion of John Scotus Erigena, respecting 
the eucharist, and taught that the bread and wine 
are not converted into the body and blood of Christ, 
but are only emblematic of them. On this ac- 
count he was severely threatened, and deprived of 
the income of his office. This not proving suffi- 
cient, he was at length summoned to Rome, by 
Nicholas II. A. D. 1058. In a very full council, 
Berengarius was so terrified, that he signed and 
confirmed with an oath, the following formula, viz : 
" That the bread and wine, after consecration, are 
not only a sacrament, but also the real body and 
blood of Christ, and are sensibly, and not merely 
sacramentally, but really and truly handled by 
the hands of the priest, broken, and masticated by 
the teeth of the faithful." But no sooner had he 
returned home, than he renounced this forced con- 
cession, and returned to his former belief. He was 
again therefore summoned to Rome by Gregory 
VII. in the year 1078. Berengarius now profess- 
ed to believe, and swore that he would in future 
believe, " That the bread of the altar, after conse- 
cration, is the real body of Christ, which was born 
of the Virgin, suffered on the cross, and is seated 
at the right hand of the Father : and that the wine 
of the altar, after consecration, is the real blood 
which flowed from Christ's side." This although 
it satisfied Gregory, did not satisfy others. In the 
following year, therefore, he was compelled to sign 
a formula drawn up in much stronger terms. But 
this he again discarded and refuted by a book, as 
soon as he got home. His enemies, therefore, re- 
newed their attack upon him ; but instead of an- 
swering them, he retired into solitude, where he 
lived a life of religious devotion, until the year 



164 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

1088, when he died, leaving a high reputation for 
sanctity, and many followers. 

The pope found much difficulty in establishing 
the use of the Romish liturgy in several countries, 
particularly in Spain, where they had long used 
the Gothic. This contest in Castile, was submitted 
to a decision by single combat. Accordingly, two . 
champions were selected, one to fight for the Ro- 
man, the other for the Gothic liturgy. The cham- 
pion for the Gothic conquered. This seemed to be 
a fair decision in favour of the Gothic ; yet the 
power and authority of the pontiff, backed by the 
queen, prevailed. In this age, they were much 
employed in repairing and ornamenting their 
churches, which, in the preceding century, had 
been suffered to go very much to ruins, under 
the apprehension that the day of judgment was at 
hand. 

VII. The heretics of this century, so called, 
were the Manichceans, or Paulicians, who inhab- 
ited Bulgaria, and Thrace ; and were in almost 
continued conflict with the Greeks. " From Bul- 
garia and Thrace, some of this sect, either from 
zeal to extend their religion, or from weariness of 
Grecian persecutions, removed first into Italy, and 
then into other countries of Europe : and there 
they gradually collected numerous congregations, 
with which the Roman pontiffs afterwards waged 
bloody wars. At what time the migration of the 
Paulicians into western Europe commenced, it is 
difficult to ascertain. But this is well attested, that 
as early as the middle of this century, they were 
numerous in Lombardy, Insubria, and especially 
Milan : nor is it less certain, that persons of this 
sect strolled about in France, Germany, and other 
countries ; and by their great appearance of sane- 



ELEVENTH CENTURY. 165 

tity, captivated no small number of the common 
people." They were called by different names, in 
different places ; as Paterini, Cathari, Albigenses, 
Publicani, and Boni Homines. It is difficult to 
know what these people held, as their history is 
involved in much obscurity. Their enemies, 
from whom we chiefly derive our knowledge of 
them, accuse them of very great errors ; but gen- 
erally bear testimony to their blameless life. We 
have before spoken of the Paulicia?is, as pious 
and excellent witnesses of the truth. It is probable 
that most of the people spoken of under the above 
mentioned names, were of a similar character, and 
by no means deserved the name of heretics. It is 
also probable that they differed very much in the 
different countries in which they were found ; and 
that sects very different from one another, were 
often confounded in the minds of their indiscrimi- 
nating adversaries. There is no doubt that many 
of those who were denominated heretics in this 
age, and persecuted as such, because they refused 
to conform to the established church, were the 
humble followers of Christ, and constituted his wit- 
nesses for the truth, in a dark age, and perverse 
generation. 

A congregation of this kind, is said to have been 
first discovered at Orleans, in France, A. D. 1017, 
in the reign of king Robert. They were charged 
with grievous errors and shameful practices, for 
which their leaders, to the number of thirteen, 
were burnt to death. Still they are extolled for 
their piety, even by their enemies. They were 
probably a kind of mystics, who rejected the ex- 
ternal worship of God, and ascribed no efficacy to 
religious rites, somewhat similar to the Quakers 
of after times. Persons of this description pro- 



166 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

ceeded from Italy in the following centuries, and 
spread over nearly all Europe, and were called in 
Germany, Brethren oft/i£ Free Spirit, and in some 
other countries, Beg/iards. 



CENTURY XII. 

1. Efforts still made to convert the barbarous tribes of the 
West. — 2. Prester John. — 3. Crusades — 4. Learning. — 5. 
Arrogancy of the Popes, and profligacy of all Orders. — 6. Su- 
perstition. — 7. Indulgences. — 8. The Petrobrussians. — 9. 
Henricians.— 10. Waldenses. 

I. Efforts were still kept up in this century to 
induce the barbarous tribes inhabiting the north of 
Europe, the Pomeranians, Finns, and Livonians, 
to embrace Christianity. Fierce wars were fre- 
quently waged, and carried on for this purpose. 
In these, Waldemar I. king of Denmark, Eric IX. 
of Sweden, called after his death St. Eric, prince 
Henry the Lion, and others, distinguished them- 
selves. The precepts enjoined by these propaga- 
tors of Christianity, will show what were regard- 
ed as the essentials of religion at that day, as well 
as some of the practices of these barbarians, viz : 
— They must observe Sundays, and the feast days ; 
they must fast ; must bring their children to be 
baptized, with certain formalities at Whitsuntide ; 
must not murder their daughters as formerly ; must 
refrain from polygamy ; must not marry their > 
god-mothers ; and in general must refrain from 
marrying their kindred within the sixth and sev- 
enth degrees ; they must not bury the bodies of 



TWELFTH CENTURY. 167 

Christians among those of pagans ; must build no 
idol temples ; consult no soothsayer ; eat nothing 
that is unclean ; do penance often, &c. 

II. In this century lived the famous Prester 
John, who, from being a presbyter, became a very 
powerful king over the eastern regions of Asia. 
" The exalted opinion of the power and riches of 
this Prester John, entertained by the Greeks and 
Latins, arose from this, that being elated with his 
prosperity, and the success of his wars with the 
neighbouring nations, he sent ambassadors and let- 
ters to the Roman emperor Frederick I., to the 
Greek emperor Manuel, and to other sovereigns, 
in which he extravagantly proclaimed his own 
majesty and wealth and power, exalting himself 
above all the kings of the earth ; and this boast- 
ing of the vain-glorious man, the Nestorians la- 
boured with all their power to confirm. He was 
succeeded by his son or brother, whose proper 
name was David, but who was also generally call- 
ed Prester John. This prince was vanquished and 
slain, near the close of this century, by that mighty 
Tartar emperor, Gengis-Khan." 

III. The new kingdom of Jerusalem, establish- 
ed by the French in the last century, seemed to 
flourish for a time, but as soon as the Mohammed- 
ans recovered from their sudden terror and con- 
sternation, they began to collect their forces, and 
harass the Christians with continual wars. They 
therefore implored the succour of the Christian 
kings of Europe. The Roman pontiff favoured 
their cause, and left no means untried, to induce 
the emperor and other sovereigns of Europe to un- 
dertake another expedition to Palestine. This new 
crusade was long a subject of debate, but was at 
length brought to an issue by St. Bernard, a man 



168 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

of immense influence, who in the year 1146, 
preached the cross, as it was called, in France and 
Germany, but especially at a public assembly at 
Vezelay, and promised in the name of God, great 
victories, and a most prosperous issue to the enter- 
prise. Lewis VII. king of France, his queen, and 
a vast number of nobles who were present, devot- 
ed themselves to the sacred war. Conrad III. em- 
peror of the Germans, at first resisted the admo- 
nitions of St. Bernard, but after some delay yield- 
ed, and followed the example of the French king. 
They both therefore the following year, (1147,) 
with numerous armies, set out by different routes 
for the Holy Land. But the greater part of both 
armies perished miserably on the road, either by fa- 
mine, or by shipwreck, or by the sword of the Mo- 
hammedans. When the remains of these armies 
had arrived in Palestine, they could effect nothing, 
owing to a disagreement between the two leaders. 
The few soldiers that remained, therefore, being 
not more than one-tenth part, they led back again 
to Europe, A. D. 1149. The only effect of this 
second crusade was, to drain Europe of a great 
portion of its wealth, and of a vast number of its 
inhabitants. The number of men lost in this fruit- 
less expedition, was about 180,000. 

The third crusade was commenced by the em- 
peror Frederic L, surnamed Barbarossa, who 
passed with a large army into Asia, in the year 
1189. He lost his life the following year while 
bathing, and a large part of his army returned to 
Europe. Of those that remained, very many were 
cut off by the plague, and the rest dispersed, so 
that nothing was accomplished. The emperor 
Frederic was followed in the year 1190, by Philip 
Augustus, king of France, and Richard, surnamed 



TWELFTH CENTURY. 169 

the Lion-hearted, king of England. Both these 
reached Palestine by sea, and in their first battle 
with the enemy, were not unsuccessful. But the 
next year, the king of France returned. The king 
of England, after prosecuting the war with vigour 
for some time, and gaining several battles, being 
deserted by the French and Italians, concluded a 
truce with Saladin for three years, three months, 
and three days ; and soon after left Palestine with 
his troops. And thus ended the third crusade, 
leaving Jerusalem in the hands of the infidels ; for 
Saladin had reduced it under his power in the 
year 1187. 

During these wars of the crusades, there arose 
three celebrated equestrian or military orders ; 
the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, the Knights 
Templars, and the Teutonic Knights of St. Mary ; 
whose business it was to clear the roads of robbers, 
to harass the Mohammedans with perpetual war- 
fare, to afford assistance to the poor and sick among 
the pilgrims to the holy places, and to perform any 
services which the public exigences seemed to 
require. 

Near the latter end of this century, a great 
change was effected in the condition of Christian- 
ity in Asia by the conquests of the great Gengis- 
Khan, commander of the Tartars. This descend- 
ant of the Moguls, who, as a hero, and victorious 
chieftain, has had few equals in any age, having 
conquered the north-east parts of Asia, invaded 
Persia, India, and Arabia, overturned the Sara- 
cenic empire, and established that of the Tartars. 
From this time, the reputation of the Christian re- 
ligion was greatly diminished, in the countries that 
had been subject to Prester John, and his succes- 
sor David : nor did it cease to decline, until it was 
15 



170 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

wholly prostrated, either by Mohammedan errors, 
or the fables of paganism. 

IV. Learning in this century, both in the East 
and West, began considerably to revive. To the 
seven liberal arts were added the study of langua- 
ges, scholastic theology, jurisprudence, and physic. 
Universities began to be established, to which the 
youth flocked in great numbers. That of Paris 
took the lead. The discovery of the celebrated 
copy of the Pandects of Justinian, in the year 
1137, gave great impulse to the study of the Ro- 
man law. Gratian, a Benedictine monk, also pub- 
lished an epitome of canon law, which began now 
to be studied in the schools. 

The writers of this century need not be named, 
although some of them obtained celebrity in their 
day. In this age lived the famous Abelard and 
Eloisa ; also Peter Lombard, commonly called 
Master of the sentences, because he collected and 
arranged scientifically the theological opinions and 
decisions of the Latin fathers. 

V. The popes of this century, like their prede- 
cessors, haughty, ambitious, and aspiring, aimed 
at nothing less than universal power. The con- 
troversy concerning investitures was kept up, and 
produced great commotions from time to time. — 
Several schisms existed for years together, when 
rival popes, supported by adverse factions, con- 
tended for the supreme authority ; and of course, 
that party proved to be in the right, which hap- 
pened to be strongest, and was in the end suc- 
cessful. It was might that made right, in those 
days, and in these violent and often bloody con- 
tests ; in which was settled the lineal descent, 
through which, it is pretended, has come down to 
the present day, the only true and verifiable epis- 



TWELFTH CENTURY. 171 

copal authority. Pope Hadrian exhibited not a 
little prelatical pride, when he required Frederic 
I. emperor of Germany, to perform the office of 
groom, and hold his stirrup, when he mounted his 
horse to ride, (A. D. 1155.) It is even said that 
pope Alexander, on another occasion, when this 
same emperor was prostrate as a suppliant before 
him, placed his foot upon his neck, and repeated 
the words of David, Psal. xci, 13, " Thou shalt 
tread upon the lion and the adder;" but the truth 
of this account is doubted. In this century the 
famous Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, 
produced no little disturbance in England, in his 
attempts to maintain the authority of the pope 
against the king ; for which he was assassinated 
by four knights of the king's household, (A. D. 
1170,) and was afterwards sainted, and enrolled 
among martyrs of the highest order ; and his 
tomb became famous for the miracles said to be per- 
formed at it. The vices of the monks and clergy, 
from the highest to the lowest orders, were enor- 
mous. They renounced all immediate subordina- 
tion to the civil magistrate, and openly pretended 
to an exemption in criminal accusations, from a 
trial before courts of justice. Spiritual penalties 
alone could be inflicted on their offences. When, 
therefore, the clergy were greatly multiplied in 
England, and many of them were ignorant and 
low characters ; crimes of the deepest dye, mur- 
ders, adulteries, robberies, rapes, were daily com- 
mitted with impunity by them. It was ascertain- 
ed, upon inquiry, that not less than one hundred 
murders had been committed, in less than ten 
years, by men of that profession, who had never 
been called to an account for their offences. The 
following statement will show the style of living 



172 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

among the monks in England. " We are told," 
says Hume, " by Giraldus Cambrensis, that the 
monks and prior of St. Swithin threw themselves, 
one day, prostrate on the ground and in the mire, 
before Henry II. complaining with many tears, 
and much doleful lamentation, that the bishop of 
Winchester, who was also their abbot, had cut off ► 
three dishes from their table. How many has he 
left you ? said the king. Ten only, replied the dis- 
consolate monks. I myself, exclaimed the king, 
never have more than three ; and I enjoin your 
bishop to reduce you to the same number." 

VI. The ceremonies of the church continued to 
be increased. The veneration of the Virgin Ma- 
ry, already very great, was much increased upon 
the idea of her immaculate conception. The holy 
supper was still administered in both kinds. — 
Transubstantiation was generally received, and 
the practice of elevating the host for the adora- 
tion of the people was introduced. Clement III. 
ordained that none but unleavened bread should 
be used ; and that the wine should be mixed with 
water. 

The scholastic divinity took the lead in this age, 
in which Abelard and Peter Lombard were most 
distinguished. Among the questions discussed 
were the following ; in what sense it might be 
said — the incarnate God ivas at the same time the 
offerer and the sacrifice; — respecting the import of 
Christ's words, My Father is greater than I ; re- 
specting the will and omnipotence of God ; wheth- 
er God wills, and himself effects, whatever takes 
place, or whether he only 'permits certain things 
to take place, which he would not have to be ; re- 
specting the immaculate conception of the Virgin 
Mary. 



TWELFTH CENTURY. 173 

Religion in this age had degenerated almost 
wholly into superstition. More reliance was pla. 
ced upon sacred relics, penances, pilgrimages to 
holy places, fighting in the holy wars, contributing 
to the building of churches, either money or la- 
hour, than upon any thing else. But the bishops 
found it convenient, for the purpose of raising 
money, to permit persons to buy off the prescri- 
bed penance ,* so that instead of fasting so long, and 
repeating so many Paternosters, and Ave Marias, 
he should pay so much money. These were 
called indulgences, and were most convenient both 
to the priests, and to the people. 

VII. " The Roman pontiffs, perceiving what ad- 
vantages the inferior bishops derived from their 
indulgences, concluded that the power of the bish- 
ops to remit ecclesiastical penalties, ought to be 
circumscribed, and the prerogative be almost 
wholly transferred to the Roman See. According- 
ly they began, as the necessity of the church, or 
their own interests required, to publish, not merely 
the common and ordinary, but likewise the entire 
and absolute, or the plenary, remission of all finite 
or temporal penalties, and they cancelled, not only 
the punishments which the canons and human tri- 
bunals inflict, but also those to be endured after 
death, which the bishops had never attempted to 
set aside. They first resorted to this power, for 
promoting the crusades, and were sparing in the 
use of it, but afterwards they exerted it for objects 
of far less importance, and of various kinds, and 
very often, merely for their own private emolu- 
ment. Upon the introduction of this new system, 
the ancient system of canonical and ecclesiastical 
penances, was wholly subverted ; and the books 
of canons and the penitentials being laid aside, 
15* 



174 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

transgressors were no longer under restraints. To 
support this proceeding of the pontiffs, an unheard 
of doctrine was got up in this century, which St. 
Thomas in the next century improved and per- 
fected ; namely, that there is an immense treasu- 
ry of good works which holy men have perform- 
ed, over and above what duty required ; and that 
the Roman pontiff is the keeper and distributor of 
this treasure ; so that he is able, out of this inex- 
haustible fund, to give and transfer to every one 
such an amount of good works as his necessities 
require, or as will suffice to avert the punishment 
of his sins. This miserable and pernicious fic- 
tion, it is to be lamented, is still retained and de- 
fended." 

VIII. The presbyter Peter De JBruys, about the 
year 1110, attempted a restoration of true reli- 
gion, in Languedoc and Provence, provinces of 
France; and having drawn many followers to him, 
after journeying and labouring for twenty years, 
was burnt by the enraged populace, at St. Giles, 
A. D. 1130. The whole system of doctrines, in- 
culcated by this Peter upon his followers, who from 
him were called Petrobrussians, is not known ; 
yet there are five of his opinions that have reach- 
ed us : 1. That persons ought not to be baptized 
till they come to the use of reason. 2. That it is 
not proper to build churches, and that such as are 
built should be pulled down. 3. That the holy 
crosses should be destroyed. 4. That the body 
and blood of Christ are not distributed in the sa- 
cred supper, but only the signs of them. 5. That 
the oblations, prayers, and good works of the liv- 
ing do not profit the dead. 

IX. The Henricians were the followers of 
Henry, who has been represented as a disciple of 



TWELFTH CENTURY. 175 

Peter de Bruys, but it is thought without good au- 
thority. He travelled from Switzerland through 
the south of France, and in 1147 came to Tou- 
louse, every where boldly declaiming against the 
vices of the clergy, and the defects of the prevail- 
ing religion, with the applause of the multitude. 
He was brought before the Roman pontiff at 
Rheims, and by him committed to prison, A. D. 
1148, where he soon after died. We only know 
of his doctrines, " that he disapproved of infant 
baptism, inveighed severely against the corrupt 
morals of the clergy, despised the festal days and 
religious ceremonies, and held clandestine as- 
semblies." 

X. But of all the sects of this century, none 
were more famous than the Waldenses, who in- 
habited the valleys of Piedmont, among the Alps. 
They took their name from Peter Waldus or Wal- 
do, a rich merchant of Lyons, who having obtain- 
ed a translation of certain books of the Scriptures, 
especially the four Gospels, was convinced that the 
religion commonly taught, differed altogether from 
that taught by Christ and his apostles. Earnest- 
ly desiring salvation therefore, he distributed his 
property among the poor, and, in the year 1180, 
with some other pious men whom he had associ- 
ated with him, he took upon himself the office of 
preacher. The archbishop of Lyons, and other 
prelates, opposed this proceeding. But the simple 
holy religion which these men professed, with the 
purity and innocence of their lives, had great in- 
fluence with the multitude, who readily fell in with 
them. They formed societies first in France, and 
then in Lombardy, and these multiplied and 
spread, with amazing rapidity, through all the 
countries of Europe ; nor could they be extermi- 



176 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

nated by any punishments, whether by death, or 
other forms of persecution. 

Some have maintained, however, and probably 
with truth, that the Waldenses were of much 
higher date than the time of Peter Waldo, and 
that they took their name from the valleys in which 
they dwelt, and some have even deduced their 
origin from a very early period of the Christian 
church. That a people did inhabit those valleys 
long before this time, who rejected the corruptions 
of the church of Rome, is generally admitted to 
be true ; and hence the doctrines of Peter Waldo 
and his associates obtained so ready a reception, 
and so strong a hold among them. And although 
their history is involved in much obscurity, there 
is every probability that the Waldenses were the 
successors of those pious and faithful witnesses 
for Christ. The doctrines and order which they 
maintained, have been much disputed. Yet it is 
believed that no candid reader of the creeds, con- 
fessions, and other public documents which they 
have left, can hesitate to conclude that their lead- 
ing opinions were very nearly the same with those 
which were afterwards entertained by Luther, 
Calvin, and the other Reformers, so that they fell 
in very readily with the church of Geneva, in the 
sixteenth century. That they taught, substantially, 
the system of free grace which is now received 
in orthodox Protestant churches, and that they 
were also Pedobaptists and Presbyterians, is too 
evident to admit of a reasonable doubt.* 

* See Appendix. 



THIRTEENTH CENTURY. 177 



CENTURY XIII. 

1. Mogul empire — 2. Crusaders. — 3. Learning. — 4. Tyranny 
of the popes — 5. Monks. — 6. Dominicans. — 7. Franciscans. 
— 8. Theology,— 9. Flagellants. — 10. Rites and ceremonies. 
— 11. Inquisition. — 12. Brethren of the Free Spirit. 

I. In this century flourished the great Mogul Em- 
pire of the Tartar race, under Gengis-Khan, and 
his successors, extending from the Chinese Sea, 
to the Euphrates and Euxine. The first of these 
Mogul emperors was friendly to Christianity ; and 
the Roman pontiffs sent ambassadors, and also mis- 
sionaries to him, who were not altogether unsuc- 
cessful. They instructed many, both of the Tar- 
tars and of the Nestorians in the principles of the 
Romish religion, and gathered Christian churches 
not only in Tartary, but also in China. And had 
it not been for the divisions and contentions be- 
tween Christians themselves, especially between 
the Roman Catholics and Nestorians, Christianity 
might probably have gained the ascendency 
throughout the East. But in the end, the Moham- 
medan religion prevailed, as probably being more 
congenial with the warlike character and spirit of 
the Tartar race. 

II. The crusades were kept up in this century, 
and several expeditions passed over to Syria and 
Egypt, but with very little success. The popes 
found it a gainful business, as tending greatly to 
increase both their wealth and power ,* they, there- 



178 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

fore, used all their influence to keep up these wars. 
But after so many disasters and defeats, the sove- 
reigns of Europe would no longer venture upon 
an enterprise of so much expense and hazard. 
Hence the kingdom of the Latins in the East 
gradually wasted away, in spite of the efforts of 
the Roman pontiffs to preserve it ; and on the 
capture of Ptolemais, A. D. 1291, it became 
wholly extinct. Thus ended this vain effort where 
it began, after it had cost Europe an immense 
amount of blood and treasure. It is estimated 
that not less than two millions of European lives 
were lost in these holy wars ! 

The Prussians, and other northern barbarians, 
were influenced in this century to come over to 
the Christian faith, by a fifty years' war, waged 
upon them for that purpose, by the Teutonic 
Knights of St. Mary. Continued wars were 
waged in Spain by the Christian kings of Castile, 
Leon, Navarre, and Arragon, against the Saracen 
princes, who were still in possession of Valencia, 
Andalusia, Granada, and Murcia. And these 
latter were gradually weakened, and their territory 
diminished. 

III. Learning in this century laboured under 
great disadvantages among the Greeks, but revived 
and flourished among the Latins. The kings and 
princes of Europe, having experienced the advan- 
tages a nation may derive from learning and the 
useful arts, invited learned men into their territo- 
ries, encouraged a thirst for knowledge, and re- 
warded it with honours and emoluments. The 
emperor Frederic II. and Alphonsus X. king of 
Castile and Leon, distinguished themselves as the 
patrons of learning. Public schools were founded 
at Padua, Modena, Naples, Capua, Salamanca, 



THIRTEENTH CENTURY. 179 

Lyons, Cologne, and other places. But the school 
at Paris excelled them all, and was the first that 
assumed the form of a university. The college 
of theology was principally founded and endowed 
by Robert de Sorbonne, (A. D. 1250,) a wealthy 
and pious man, and a favourite of Lewis IX.; 
from whom it derived the name of Sorbonne, 
which it has retained to the present day. In this 
age the works of Aristotle obtained a complete 
ascendency in the schools. The first who pub- 
lished expositions of Aristotle, were Alexander 
Hales, an Englishman, called the Irrefragable 
Doctor ; Albert the Great, a German, and a man 
of superior genius ; and after these Thomas Aqui- 
nas, who was the great luminary of the schools, 
and was called the Angelic Doctor. In this age 
lived Roger Bacon, an Englishman, and a Francis- 
can monk. He was a very extraordinary man, 
skilled far beyond the standard of his age, in 
philosophy, mathematics, chemistry, the mechanic 
arts, and various languages. He was called the 
Admirable Doctor. His discoveries and exhibi- 
tions in chemistry and the arts were so wonder- 
ful, and so far above the comprehension of the age, 
that he was accused of magic, and imprisoned for 
ten years as a heretic. 

IV. The Roman pontiffs of this century were 
most corrupt, tyrannical, and oppressive ; they 
scrupled at no means of extending their power and 
increasing their wealth ; claimed universal author- 
ity and control, both in church and state ; and 
sometimes raised up, and put down kings at plea- 
sure. Innocent III. in the year 1208, excommu- 
nicated John, surnamed Lack-land, king of Eng- 
land and Ireland; afterwards, in 1211 absolved 
his subjects from their oath of allegiance; and 



180 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

finally, in the year 1212 divested him of his 
authority, and gave the kingdoms of England and 
Ireland to Philip Augustus, the king of France. 
Alarmed at these decrees, and dreading a war, 
John made his kingdoms tributary to the pope, in 
the year 1212. His submission was in the fol- 
lowing words — " I John, by the grace of God, 
king of England and lord of Ireland, for the ex- 
piation of my sins, and out of my own free will, 
with the advice and consent of my barons, do give 
unto the church of Rome, and to pope Innocent 
III. and his successors, the kingdoms of England 
and Ireland, together with all the rights belonging 
to them ; and will hold them of the pope as his 
vassal. I will be faithful to God, to the church 
of Rome, to the pope my lord, and to his success- 
ors lawfully appointed, and I bind myself to pay 
him a tribute of one thousand marks of silver 
yearly, viz : seven hundred for the kingdom of 
England, and three hundred for Ireland." This 
imprudence brought extreme disgrace and immense 
evils upon the king. 

A most furious quarrel was carried on between 
pope Gregory IX. and the emperor Frederic II. 
Having before excommunicated him, which he 
little regarded, the pope thundered forth his bull 
against the emperor in the following style ; — " A 
beast of blasphemy, replete with names, is risen 
from the sea, with the feet of a bear, the face of a 
lion, and members of other beasts ; which, like the 
proud, hath opened his mouth against the holy 
name, not even fearing to throw his arrows against 
the tabernacle of God, and the saints that dwell in 
heaven," &c. Frederic met this bull by a reply 
in which he styles his holiness " the great dragon, 
the antichrist," of whom it is written, " and an- 



THIRTEENTH CENTURY. 181 

other red horse arose from the sea, and he that 
sat upon him took peace from the earth," &c. 
This quarrel rekindled the two factions of the 
Guelphs and Ghibelines, whose cities were given 
up to indiscriminate butchery. 

V. Many new orders of monks originated in 
this century, some of which soon ceased, and 
others have continued to the present time. But 
none equalled in numbers, privileges, and reputa- 
tion, the Mendicant Orders. These multiplied so 
greatly that they became a heavy burden, not only 
upon the people, but also upon the church. This 
evil Gregory X. attempted to correct in the gen- 
eral council of Lyons, A. D. 1272, and reduced 
them to four orders ; viz : — Dominicans, Francis- 
cans, Carmelites, and Augustinian Eremites. 
" As these orders had liberty from the pontiffs to 
spread themselves every where and to instruct the 
people and to teach the youth ; and as they ex- 
hibited a far greater show of piety and sanctity 
than the older orders of monks, all Europe sud- 
denly burst forth in admiration and reverence for 
them. Very many cities, as appears from the 
most credible documents, were divided for their 
sakes into four sections ; of which, the first was 
assigned to the Dominicans, the second to the 
Franciscans, the third to the Carmelites, and the 
fourth to the Augustinians. The people frequented, 
almost exclusively, the churches of the mendicants, 
and but seldom asked for the sacraments, as they 
are called, or for burial, except among them ; 
which naturally called forth grievous complaints* 
from the ordinary priests who had the charge of 
the parishes. Indeed, the history of this and the 
following centuries, shows, that so great was the 
reputation and influence of these mendicant Friars, 
16 



182 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

that they were employed in transactions of the 
highest magnitude, in negotiations for peace, in 
the ratification of treaties, in shaping the policy 
of courts, in arranging financial concerns, and in 
various other functions totally at variance with 
the monastic profession." But of these four orders, 
the Dominicans and Franciscans were by far the 
most successful. They had the direction of nearly 
every thing in church and state, and held the 
highest offices both ecclesiastical and civil. What 
the Jesuits were, after the reformation by Luther 
commenced, the same were the Dominicans and 
Franciscans, from the thirteenth century to the 
times of Luther. 

VI. The founder of the Dominicans was St. 
Dominic, a Spaniard. He was famous as a 
preacher, and they were at first called preaching 
friars. In the year 1277, the Order had thirty- 
five cloisters for men in Spain, fifty-two in France, 
thirty-two in Tuscany, fifty-three in Germany, 
forty-six in Lombardy, thirty in Hungary, thirty- 
six in Poland, twenty-eight in Denmark, forty in 
England, besides some in other countries, and a 
large number of nunneries. The next year it 
counted four hundred and seventeen cloisters. 

VII. St. Francis, the author of the Franciscans, 
was, in his youth, wild and profligate ; but, after 
recovering from a dangerous illness, brought on 
by his licentious practices, he became as extrava- 
gant in religion, as he had been before in his 
worldly pleasures. He clothed himself in skins, 
and lived like a beggar, travelling up and down 
the country, and exhorting all to become reli- 
gious. Some regarded him as insane, and others 
as a saint. In 1210 he had but eleven followers, 
when he obtained leave of the pope to continue 



THIRTEENTH CENTURY. 133 

his monastery. In 1211, he sent his monks all 
over Italy, to preach, and beg their bread. Fran- 
cis himself travelled, and preached, and pretended 
to have revelations, and work miracles. 

As these mendicant orders devoted themselves 
to the cause of the popes, and were exceedingly 
useful to them in sustaining their power and 
authority ; so the popes conferred upon them very 
great privileges and prerogatives. They were 
permitted to travel and preach publicly in all 
places, and without a license from the bishops, to 
be confessors to all who wished to employ them, 
and to grant absolutions. They were also in- 
trusted, particularly the Franciscans, with ample 
power to grant indulgences ; the sale of which 
might furnish them with the means of support. 
In consequence of these privileges, their pride 
and presumption rose to a very great height. 
They professed to have a divine impulse and 
commission to illustrate and maintain the religion 
of Jesus. " They treated with the utmost inso- 
lence and contempt all the different orders of the 
priesthood ; they affirmed without a blush, that 
the true method of obtaining salvation was re- 
vealed to them alone ; proclaimed with ostentation 
the superior efficacy and virtue of their indul- 
gences ; and vaunted beyond measure their inte- 
rest at the court of heaven, and their familiar 
connexion with the Supreme Being, the Virgin 
Mary, and the saints in glory. By these impious 
wiles, they so deluded and captivated the miser- 
able and blinded multitude, that they would not 
intrust any other but the Mendicants with the 
care of their souls. As an instance of the arts 
which they practised in order to delude the peo- 
ple, the Carmelites gave out that the Virgin Mary 



184 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

had appeared to one Simon Stock, a general of 
their order, who died near the beginning of this 
century, and had promised him that no person 
should be eternally lost who should expire clothed 
in the short mantle, worn on the shoulders by the 
Carmelites, and called the scapular. And this 
ridiculous and wicked fiction, was countenanced 
and sustained by the popes. 

These prerogatives of the mendicant orders, 
and their popularity, produced deadly hatred be- 
tween them and the bishops and priests, and 
caused violent struggles and commotions in every 
country of Europe, and even in the city of Rome 
itself. 

A violent contest arose between the Dominicans 
and the University of Paris, which was continued 
through nearly half this century. The Domini- 
cans claimed the privilege of having two theolo- 
gical chairs in that institution, which the univer- 
sity was unwilling to grant. But the Dominicans, 
vigorously sustained by the pope, finally pre- 
vailed. 

" But these very orders," says Mosheim, 
" which seemed to be the principal supports of 
the Romish power, gave the pontiffs immense 
trouble, not long after the decease of Dominic 
and Francis ; and the difficulties, though often 
dispelled for a time, continually recurred, and 
brought the church into great jeopardy. In the 
first place, these two most powerful orders con- 
tended with each other for precedence ; and 
attacked and warred upon each other in their 
publications, with invectives and criminations. 
Attempts were frequently made to stop these con- 
tentions ; but the firebrand that kindled them 
could never be extinguished. In the next place 



THIRTEENTH CENTURY. 185 

the Franciscan fraternity was early split into fac- 
tions, which time only strengthened and rendered 
inveterate; and these factions not only disturbed 
the peace of the church, but shook even the 
sovereign powers and majesty of the pontiffs them- 
selves. Nor will it appear doubtful, to one who 
attentively considers the course of events in the 
Latin church from this period onward, that these 
mendicant orders, in part undesignedly, and in 
part knowingly and intentionally, gave mortal 
wounds to the authority of the Romish church, 
and caused the people to wish for a reformation 
in the church." 

The first subject of contention among the Fran- 
ciscans, regarded the strictness of their rule. 
St. Francis enjoined upon his friars absolute 
poverty. His rule was in these words : " The 
brethren may appropriate nothing to themselves, 
neither house, nor land, nor any other thing ; but 
as strangers and foreigners in this world, serving 
the Lord in poverty and humility, let them go 
relying confidently on alms or begging. This is 
that height of deep poverty, which hath consti- 
tuted you, my dearest brethren, the heirs and 
kings of the kingdom of heaven." But soon after 
his death, many of them departed from this 
rigorous law, and desired to have their rule 
modified and relaxed. This gave great offence 
to others, who were called the Spiritual. A 
perplexing controversy having thus arisen, Inno- 
cent IV. in the year 1245, decided according to 
the views of those that wished their rule to be 
relaxed ; declaring that they might hold lands, 
houses, furniture, books, &c. and might use them 
freely; but that the right of property, the legal 
possession, or oivnership, of the whole should 
16* 



186 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

belong to St. Peter, and to the church of Rome, 
without whose consent, nothing should be sold, 
exchanged, or in any way transferred to others. 
This was doubtless a very politic decision, and 
in perfect keeping with the general character of 
St. Peter of Rome; but it gave great umbrage to 
the Spirituals, who pronounced it an unrighteous 
perversion of their rule, and in consequence of 
which, some retired into the woods and deserts, 
and others were sent into exile by the general of 
the order. 

Another dispute rose among the Franciscans re- 
specting The Everlasting Gospel, a book so called, 
ascribed (whether truly or falsely is uncertain) 
to one Joachim, an Italian abbot, and a famous 
prophet of that day. This work took its name 
from Rev. xiv. 6, and predicted that a new and 
more perfect gospel was about to be promulgated, 
by poor persons divinely commissioned, in the 
age of the Holy Spirit. This the Spirituals 
eagerly seized upon and appropriated to them- 
selves. One of their number published an Intro- 
duction to the Everlasting Gospel, in which he 
asserted that the true and Everlasting Gospel of 
God was exhibited to mankind by St. Francis, 
who was the angel that John saw flying in the 
midst of heaven ; that the Gospel of Christ 
would be abrogated in the year 1260, and this 
new and eternal Gospel take its place, and that 
the ministers by whom this great change would 
be brought about, were to be itinerant barefooted 
friars. This gave great ofFence, and caused great 
contentions, until the book was first condemned 
by the pope, and afterwards publicly burnt. 
" Near the close of this century originated in 
Italy the Fratricelli and Bizochi, parties that in 



THIRTEENTH CENTURY. 187 

Germany and France were denominated Beghards , 
and which first Boniface VIII. and afterwards 
other pontiffs, condemned, and wished to see per- 
secuted by the Inquisition, and exterminated in 
every possible way." 

VIII. The theology of this century became 
still more corrupt. Little regard was paid to the 
Scriptures, at least to their plain and simple 
meaning. The scholastic doctors, with Aristotle 
in one hand, and the Bible in the other, philoso- 
phized, disputed, divided, defined, distinguished, 
and at the same time greatly obscured the simple 
and beautiful truths of the religion of Christ. 
But no sentiment was more pernicious than that 
which taught that men can perform more than 
God requires of them, and that all religion con- 
sists in the external homage of the lips, in certain 
bodily gestures, and external penances. The 
manner in which the body and blood of Christ 
are present in the Eucharist, had as yet been a 
matter in dispute, and no authoritative decision 
had as yet been made by the church upon the 
subject. But in the fourth Lateran council, 
A. D. 1215, Innocent III. a most imperious pon- 
tiff, without asking the opinion of any one, pub- 
lished seventy decrees, in which, among other 
things calculated to increase the power of the 
pontiffs, and give importance to the clergy, he 
decided the question respecting the Eucharist, 
and pronounced that opinion to be the only true 
one, which is now universally received in the 
Romish church. To this new article of faith, he 
consecrated the hitherto unknown term transub- 
stantiation. He added also, as an article of faith, 
that every one is bound by a positive divine or- 
dinance, to enumerate and confess his sins to a 



183 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

priest. Up to this time, although the confession 
of sins was held to be a duty, yet every one had 
been at liberty, as he saw fit, either to confess 
them mentally to God alone, or orally to a priest 
also. It is easy to see how greatly these two 
dogmas were calculated to increase the power and 
authority of the priests. 

IX. " Nothing perhaps will show more clearly 
the unsoundness of the religion of the age, gene- 
rally, and its discordance with the Bible, than the 
history of the societies of Flagellants ; which 
first originated in Italy, in the year 1260, and 
afterwards spread over a large part of Europe. 
A great multitude of persons, of all ranks and 
ages, and of both sexes, ran about the streets of 
cities and country towns with whips in their 
hands, lashing their naked bodies ; and they ex- 
pected by this voluntary punishment, by their 
frightful countenances and their distracted cries, 
to procure the divine compassion for themselves 
and others. This method of placating the Su- 
preme Being, was perfectly accordant with the 
nature of religion as it existed in that age. Nor 
did these Flagellants do any thing but what they 
had learned from the monks, and particularly 
from the mendicant orders. And hence they 
were at first highly revered and extolled for their 
sanctity, not only by the populace, but also by 
their rulers and governors. But when the tur- 
bulent and extravagant, and those contaminated 
with ridiculous opinions, joined themselves to 
the primitive and more decent and moral Fla- 
gellants, the emperors and the pontiffs issued 
decrees to put a stop to this religious frenzy." 
Although the doctrine of transubstantiation had 
been decided ex cathedra, and pronounced by the 



THIRTEENTH CENTURY. 189 

infallible head of the Romish church to be the 
true doctrine, yet there were many as yet who 
denied it, and maintained what is called the 
real presence, or consubstantiation. Pre-eminent 
among these was John, a subtle doctor of Paris, 
near the close of this century. 

X. Rites and ceremonies continued to be in- 
creased. Religion had become so exclusively an 
external thing, that every means was studied of 
presenting it to the eyes and external senses. 
Hence at stated times, and particularly on the 
festivals, they had a kind of religious shows, or 
dramatic representations of all the more striking 
facts in sacred history. — The doctrine of tran- 
substantiation led, of course, to many ceremonies, 
by which the bread and wine, now become the 
soul and body and Divinity of Christ, might be 
sufficiently honoured. "Hence those splendid 
caskets, in which God, in the form of bread, 
might reside as in a house, and be carried from 
place to place : hence lamps, and other decora- 
tions, were added to these reputed domicils of a 
present Deity ; hence this bread was carried in 
splendid processions, along the streets, to the 
sick; and other rites of like character were in- 
troduced. But to crown all, the festival of the 
body of Christ, was instituted. This was done 
at the instance of one Juliana, a nun who lived 
at Liege in the Netherlands. " This fanatical wo- 
man declared, that as often as she addressed her- 
self to God, or to the saints in prayer, she saw 
the full moon with a small defect or breach in it ; 
and that, having long studied to find out the sig- 
nification of this strange appearance, she was 
inwardly informed by the Spirit, that the moon 
signified the church, and that the defect or breach 



190 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

was the want of an annual festival in honour of 
the holy sacrament." Doubtless it would have 
bordered on excessive incredulity, not to have 
received such a report of a pious nun ; pope 
Urban IV. therefore, in the year 1264, supplied 
the defect, and imposed the festival upon the 
whole church ! It was established and confirmed 
in the council of Vienne, A. D. 1311. At the 
close of this century, Boniface VIII. added to the 
ceremonies of the church, the year of jubilee ; 
which is celebrated at Rome with great pomp to 
the present day. A rumour in some way got 
abroad, that all who should devoutly visit St. 
Peter's church in the course of those years that 
terminate centuries, would thereby merit indul- 
gences for a hundred years. The pope upon in- 
quiring into the subject, pronounced it to be true ; 
and by an epistle sent throughout all Christendom, 
decided that in every centennial year, all who 
would confess their sins, and devoutly visit the 
temple of St. Peter and St. Paul at Rome, should 
receive plenary absolution of their sins. This 
brought vast numbers to Rome from all parts of 
Europe. " The public roads in Italy exhibited 
an almost continuous procession, or a line of 
march from one end to the other ; and nearly 
every day two hundred thousand foreigners might 
be counted at Rome. Indeed it has been esti- 
mated that two millions of people visited Rome 
during the year 1300; and the concourse there 
was so great, that many were trodden to death 
by the throng. So happy a result made the pope 
and the people of Rome wish that a century was 
not so long an interval. Therefore Clement VI. 
repeated the jubilee, A. D. 1350; and Nicolaus V. 



THIRTEENTH CENTURY. 191 

established the festival to be held once in twenty- 
five years. 

XI. During the whole of this century, the popes 
were engaged in cruel and bloody wars against 
heretics ; i. e. such as disssented in any degree 
from the doctrines of the church of Rome, or dis- 
puted the power and prerogatives claimed by the 
popes. These heretics, under different names, and 
holding very different sentiments, were scattered 
throughout all Europe, and in some parts were very 
numerous. In order to search out and detect 
them, the pope stationed his legates in almost eve- 
ry city, the inhabitants of which were suspected. 
These legates, from the duties assigned them, were 
called Inquisitors. In the next place, several per- 
sons were associated together, constituting a board 
of Inquisitors. In 1233, Gregory IX. altered the 
institution, and conferred on the preaching monks, 
or Dominicans, the inquisition for heresy in 
France ; and by a formal bull, freed the bishops 
from that duty. From this period we are to date 
the commencement of the dreadful tribunal of the 
Inquisition ; which, in this and the following cen- 
turies, subdued such hosts of heretics, either by 
forcing them back into the church, or by deliver- 
ing them up to the temporal authorities to be burn- 
ed. The Dominicans erected, first at Toulouse, 
and then at other places, permanent courts, before 
which were arraigned, not only heretics, and those 
suspected of heresy, but likewise those that were 
accused of magic, soothsaying, Judaism, sorcery, 
and the like. The following account of the Inqui- 
sition may be interesting. 

When the Inquisition discovered a transgressor 
of their laws, either by common report, or by their 
spies, or by an informer, he was cited three times 



192 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

to appear before them ; and if he did not appear, 
he was forthwith condemned. It was safest to 
appear on the first citation ; because the longer a 
man delayed, the more guilty he would be ; and 
the Inquisition had their spies, and a thousand con- 
cealed ways of getting an absconding heretic into 
their power. When a supposed heretic was once 
in the hands of the Inquisition, no one dared to in- 
quire after him, or write to him, or intercede for 
him. When every thing belonging to the person 
seized was in their hands, then the process began ; 
and it was protracted in the most tedious manner. 
After many days, or perhaps months, which the 
accused dragged out in a loathsome dungeon, the 
keeper of the prison asked him, as it were accident- 
ally, if he wished to have a hearing. When he 
appeared before his judges, they inquired, just as 
if they knew nothing about him, who he was, and 
what he wanted. If he wished to be informed 
what offence he had committed, he was admonish- 
ed to confess his faults himself. If he confessed 
nothing, time was given him for reflection, and he 
was remanded to prison. If after a long time al- 
lowed him, he still confessed nothing, he must 
swear to answer truly all the questions put to him. 
If he would not swear, he was condemned without 
further process. If he swore to give answer, he 
was questioned in regard to his whole life without 
making known to him his oflbnce. He was, how- 
ever promised a pardon, if he would truly confess 
his offences : an artifice this, by which his judges 
often learned more than they knew before against 
him. At last the charges against him were pre- 
sented to him in writing, and counsel also was as- 
signed him, who, however, only advised him to 
confess fully his faults. The accuser and informer 



THIRTEENTH CENTURY. 193 

against him were not made known to him, but the 
real charges against him were put into his hands. 
He was allowed time for his defence ; but his accus- 
er, and the witnesses against him, he could know 
only by conjecture. Sometimes he was so fortunate 
as to discover who they were ; but rarely were they 
presented before him or confronted with him. If his 
answers did not satisfy his judges, or if the allega- 
tions against him were not fully proved, resort 
was had to torture : a transaction which well nigh 
exceeded the sufferings endured by the first Christ- 
ians when persecuted by the pagans. The torture 
was by the rope, by water and by fire. The rope 
was passed under the arms, which were tied be- 
hind the back of the accused. By this rope he was 
drawn up into the air with a pulley, and there left 
to swing for a time ; and then suddenly let fall to 
within half a foot of the ground ; by the shock of 
which fall, all his joints were dislocated. If he 
still confessed nothing, the torture by water was 
tried. After making him drink a great quantity 
of water, he was laid upon a hollowed bench ; 
across the middle of this bench a stick of timber 
passed, which kept the body of the offender sus- 
pended, and caused him most intense pain in the 
back bone. The most cruel torture was that by 
fire ; in which his feet being smeared with grease, 
were directed towards a hot fire, and the soles of 
them left to burn until he would confess. Each of 
these tortures was continued as long as, in the 
judgment of the physician of the Inquisition, the 
man was able to bear it. He might now confess 
what he would, but still the torture would be re- 
peated, first to discover the object and motives of 
the acknowledged offence, and then to make him 
expose his accomplices. If, when tortured, he 
17 



194 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

confessed nothing, many snares were laid to elicit 
from him, unconsciously, his offence. The con- 
clusion was, that the accused, when he seemed to 
have satisfied his judges, was condemned, accord- 
ing to the measure of his offence, to death, or to 
perpetual imprisonment, or to the galleys, or to be 
scourged ; and he was delivered over to the civil 
authorities, who were instructed to spare his life, 
as the church never thirsted for blood ; but yet 
they would experience persecution if they did not 
carry the decisions of the court into execution. 
What an infernal device is the Inquisition ! What 
innocent person could escape destruction, if an in- 
quisition were disposed to destroy him ? A here- 
tic, even if he had been acquitted by the pope him- 
self, might still be condemned to die by the Inqui- 
sition. An equivocal promise of pardon might 
be given, to induce him to make confession, but 
the promise must not be fulfilled when the object 
of it was obtained. Even death did not free a 
person from the jurisdiction of the Inquisition ; 
for a deceased heretic must be burned in effigy. 
Would not every feeling of humanity be outraged 
by following such principles as these ? The in- 
quisitorial judges do not deny that by such pro- 
ceedings, many innocent persons perish along with 
the guilty ; but this does not trouble them. Better, 
say they, that a hundred innocent persons, who 
are good catholics, should be cut off and go to 
Paradise, than to let one heretic escape, who might 
poison many souls, and plunge them in endless 
perdition. 

Besides this inquisitorial process, the pope 
strongly urged upon the king and nobles of France 
a holy war against the heretics, that were very 
numerous in the southern part of that kingdom ; 



THIRTEENTH CENTURY. 195 

and promised ample indulgences to those who 
should engage in it. This crusade was preached 
up by the Cistercian monks ; and in the year 1209, 
a large army was collected, and commenced their 
holy war against the heretics, who bore the gen- 
eral name of Albigenses. This war was carried 
on in the most cruel manner, and with various 
success, for several years together. The director 
of the war was Arnald, a Cistercian abbot and 
the pope's legate ; the commander in chief of the 
forces, was Simon, earl of Montfort. At the cap- 
ture of Minerbe, Simon found one hundred and 
forty Manichseans ; all of whom he burned at the 
stake, because they would not abjure their religion. 
At Beziers, six thousand persons were slain ; and 
at Toulouse, twenty thousand. When the crusa- 
ders had captured a castle called Brom, in which 
were found one hundred persons, Simon ordered 
all their noses to be cut off, and their eyes to be 
put out, except a single eye of one individual, who 
might serve as guide to the rest, who were sent to 
Cabrieres, to terrify others. 

XII. But all this severity of the popes against 
heretics, and the various means used to suppress 
them, could not extirpate them, or prevent new 
and pernicious sects from springing up. One of 
the most considerable of these, was that of the 
Brethren and Sisters of the free Spirit, which at 
this time secretly spread over Italy, France, and 
Germany ; and, by a great show of piety, drew 
after it many persons of both sexes. Clothed in 
a singular manner, they ran about the cities and 
the country, begging their bread with loud vo- 
ciferations ; for they maintained that labour pre- 
vented the elevation of the soul to God. They 
were accompanied by women, with whom they 



196 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

lived in the greatest familiarity. " These breth- 
ren, who boasted of being free from the law, and 
of having attained to the freedom of the Spirit, pro- 
fessed a rigid and austere species of mystical 
theology, based upon philosophical principles, that 
were not far removed from the impiety of those 
called Pantheists. For they held that all things 
emanated from God, and would revert back into 
him ; that rational souls were parts of the Su- 
preme Being, and that the whole universe was 
God ; that a man, by turning his thoughts in- 
ward, and withdrawing his attention from all 
sensible objects, may become united in an inex- 
plicable manner with the Parent and first cause 
of all things, and be one with him ; that persons 
thus immersed in the vortex of the Deity, by long 
contemplation attained to perfect freedom, and 
became divested not only of all their lusts, but 
likewise of the instincts of nature. From these, 
and similar principles, they inferred that a person 
thus raised up to God, and absorbed as it were in 
the Divine nature, was himself God, and such a 
Son of God as Christ was ; and therefore was 
raised above all laws, human and divine. And 
they maintained, of course, that all external wor- 
ship of God, prayer, fasting, baptism, the sacred 
supper, &c, were mere elements for children ; 
which a man no longer needed, when converted 
into God himself, and detached from this visible 
world." 

Among these people, there were some consci- 
entious and upright persons, who did not push 
their doctrines so far, nor extend that liberty of 
the spirit which they professed beyond an exemp- 
tion from external worship and ecclesiastical law. 
They made religion consist exclusively in internal 



FOURTEENTH CENTURY. 197 

worship, and looked with contempt on monastic 
rules of discipline, and other things held sacred. 
Not a few of this description, being apprehended 
by the Inquisitors, expired cheerfully and calmly 
in the flames. " But there were others of a worse 
character among them, and whose piety was as 
foolish as it was dangerous. These maintained, 
that by persevering contemplation, all the in- 
stincts of nature might be eradicated, and ex- 
cluded from the godlike soul, and a kind of holy 
or divine stupor be brought over the mind." 
Carrying out this principle, they set decency at 
defiance, and seemed to think that the utmost 
elevation of man is to exhibit the senselessness of 
the brute. 



CENTURY XIV. 

1. Religious wars. — 2. Literature.— 3. Pope's claims of au- 
thority, and bull Unam Sanctam. — 4. Two popes. — 5- Men- 
dicants. — 6. John Wickliffe. — 7. Contests of Franciscans. — 
8- Cellites. — 9. Theology. — 10. Ceremonies. — 11. Sects. 

I. Many efforts were made by the popes, in 
this century, to renew the holy wars against the 
Turks and Saracens. Several armies were raised 
at different times, and considerable preparations 
were made to fit out expeditions to Palestine ; but 
from one cause and another, they all failed, and 
nothing was done. During this century, the 
Christian religion was almost extirpated in the 
East by the Turks and Tartars. Tamerlane, 
the powerful emperor of the Tartars, as a disciple 
17 * 



198 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

of Mohammed, thought it his duty to make war 
upon the Christians, in order to convert them to 
the true faith, and therefore inflicted upon them 
numberless evils ; cruelly butchering some, and 
dooming others to perpetual slavery. 

During this century, the barbarians in the north 
of Europe that still adhered to their ancient idola- 
try, were, by one means and another, brought 
over to the Christian faith. In this work, the 
Teutonic knights performed no small share, by 
wars and massacres. The Jews suffered great 
persecution in many countries in this century ; 
and many of them were compelled to profess 
Christianity, in order to save their lives. The 
Saracens, or Moors, still maintained a footing in 
Spain ; and against them continual wars were 
waged by the Christian kings of Castile, Aragon, 
and Navarre. 

II. The literature and philosophy of this age, 
although generally improving, were yet very im- 
perfect, and not very profitable. Aristotle reigned 
in the schools, and violent contests were carried 
on between the Realists and Nominalists. Among 
the latter, William Occam and John Buridan dis- 
tinguished themselves. Astrology, or the art of 
prognosticating the fortunes of men by the stars, 
was extensively cultivated by the philosophers of 
this day. Yet caution was necessary in order to 
avoid impeachment for magic, and to escape the 
hands of the Inquisitors. This caution was not 
sufficiently observed by Ceccus Asculanus, a very 
noted peripatetic philosopher, astrologer, mathe- 
matician, and physician. For, having by me- 
chanical arts performed some things that appeared 
miraculous to the vulgar, and uttered predictions 
that proved to be true, he fell under suspicion of 



FOURTEENTH CENTURY. 199 

having intercourse with the devil, and was com- 
mitted to the flames by the Inquisition at Flo- 
rence, A. D. 1327. Thomas Bradwardine, an 
Englishman, and archbishop of Canterbury, dis- 
tinguished himself as a mathematician. The 
celebrated Petrarch and Dante, in Italy, gave a 
spring to the cultivation of polite literature. 

III. The popes and the clergy of this age were 
exceedingly corrupt, and almost every kind of 
wickedness was practised and carried on under 
the guise of religion. All honest and good men 
ardently wished for a reformation of the church, 
both in its head and its members, as it was usual 
to express it. But so great was now the papal 
power, that it was no easy matter to accomplish 
it. Yet this dominion of the Roman pontiffs, 
impregnable and durable as it seemed to be, was 
gradually undermined and weakened in this cen- 
tury, partly by the rash insolence of the pontiffs 
themselves, and partly by the occurrence of cer- 
tain unexpected events. The commencement of 
the weakening of the papal power is referred to 
the contest between Boniface VIII., who governed 
the Latin church at the beginning of this century, 
and Philip the Fair, king of France. In a very 
haughty letter addressed to Philip, Boniface main- 
tained that all kings and persons whatsoever, by 
divine command, owed perfect obedience to the 
Roman pontiffs ; and this not only in religious 
matters, but likewise in secular and human af- 
fairs. The king replied with great severity. 
Boniface then published the celebrated bull, called 
Unam Sanctam. " In this bull, the pontiff as- 
serts that there is but one church of Christ, under 
one head, as there was but one ark under the 
command of Noah ; all out of which necessarily 



200 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

perish : that the sole head of the church on earth 
is Christ's vicegerent, St. Peter and his succes- 
sors, who are amenable to none but God: that 
both swords, the spiritual and the material, are in 
the power of the church ; the latter to be wielded 
for the church, or by the kings and soldiers, at 
the nod and pleasure of the priesthood, and the . 
former to be wielded by the church or the priest- 
hood : that the temporal power is subjected to 
the spiritual ; otherwise the church would be a 
double-headed monster : that whosoever resists 
this order of things, resists the ordinance of God : 
and he concludes thus : — " We declare, deter- 
mine, and decree, that it is absolutely necessary 
to salvation, that every human being should be 
subject to the Roman pontiff." The king, on the 
contrary, in an assembly of his nobles, publicly 
charged the pontiff with heresy, simony, dishones- 
ty, and other enormities ; and urged the calling of a 
general council, in order to depose the guilty pon- 
tiff from his office. The pontiff, in return, ex- 
communicated the king and all his adherents, 
A. D. 1303. Upon this, Philip sent William de 
Nogaret, a famous lawyer, and a bold and fear- 
less man, who raised a small force, suddenly 
attacked Boniface, who was living securely at 
Anagni, made him prisoner, wounded him, and, 
among other severe indignities, struck him on the 
head with his iron gauntlet. The pope was res- 
cued out of his hands, but died soon after, from 
the violence of his rage and anguish of mind. 
This taught succeeding popes the salutary lesson 
that sometimes it was necessary to fear the wrath 
of a king, and to conciliate the civil powers. 
Philip managed to have a Frenchman created 
pontiff at Rome, A. D. 1305, over whom he could 



FOURTEENTH CENTURY. 201 

exercise control. He assumed the name of Cle- 
ment V., and, in compliance with the wishes of 
the French king, remained in France, and trans- 
ferred the pontifical court to Avignon, where it 
continued for seventy years. This period the 
Italians call the Babylonish captivity. The resi- 
dence of the popes at Avignon tended in no small 
degree to lessen their power and influence. The 
Ghibelline faction in Italy, hostile to the popes, 
assumed greater boldness, and several cities re- 
volted from the popes. Rome itself became the 
parent and fomenter of tumults, cabals, and civil 
wars; and the laws and decrees sent thither 
from France, were publicly treated with con- 
tempt : and that not merely by the mobs, but also 
by the common citizens. A great part of Europe 
followed the example of Italy ; and numberless 
examples show that the people of Europe at- 
tributed far less power to the fulminations and 
decrees issued from France, than to those issued 
from Rome. 

IV. After the death of Gregory XL, A. D. 
1378, two popes were chosen: one assumed the 
name of Urban VI., and resided at Rome; the 
other assumed the name of Clement VII., and re- 
sided at Avignon. The cardinals chose the first 
to please the people of Rome, and the second, to 
please themselves and others; and which of these 
was the legitimate and true pontiff, still remains 
uncertain ; nor can it be fully ascertained from 
Vll the documents, which have been published in 
great abundance by both parties. France, Spain, 
Scotland, Sicily, and Cyprus, espoused the cause 
of Clement ; the other countries of Europe re- 
garded Urban as the true vicegerent of Christ. 
"Thus the unity of the Latin church," says Mos- 



202 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

heim, " as existing under one head, came to an 
end, at the death of Gregory XI. ; and that most 
unhappy disunion ensued, which is usually deno- 
minated the great schism of the West. For during 
filly years, the church had two or three heads ; 
and the contemporary pontiffs assailed each other 
with excommunications, maledictions, and hostile 
measures. The calamities and distress of those 
times are indescribable. For besides the perpetual 
contentions and wars between the pontifical fac- 
tions, which were ruinous to great numbers, in- 
volving them in loss of life or of property, nearly 
all sense of religion was in many places extin- 
guished, and wickedness daily acquired greater 
impunity and boldness. The clergy, previously 
corrupt, now laid aside even the appearance of 
piety and godliness ; while those who called them- 
selves Christ's vicegerents were at open war with 
each other : and the conscientious people, who 
believed that no one could be saved without living 
in subjection to Christ's vicegerent, were thrown 
into the greatest perplexity and anxiety of mind. 
Yet both the church and the state received very 
considerable advantages from these great calami- 
ties. For the nerves of the pontifical power were 
cut by these dissensions, and could not afterwards 
be restored ; and kings and princes, who had be- 
fore been in a sense the servants of the pontiffs, 
now became their judges and masters." 

V. The mendicants, particularly of the Domin- 
ican and Franciscan orders, were in great power 
and authority in the church ; and so great was their 
reputation for sanctity, and for power with God, 
that the most distinguished persons of both sexes, 
some while in health, others when sick, and in the 
near prospect of death, wished to be received into 



FOURTEENTH CENTURY. 203 

their orders, for the purpose of securing the favour 
of God. Many carefully inserted in their last wills, 
that they would have their corpses wrapped in a 
sordid Dominican or Franciscan garment, and be 
buried among the mendicants. — At the same time, 
their vices and crimes were such as to give great 
offence to many, and create great disturbance. 
Almost universally, the higher and lower orders 
of the regular clergy, the universities, and the oth- 
er monks, were bitterly opposed to them. Yet 
they were sustained by the popes, because they 
found them excellent tools for accomplishing their 
purposes, and maintaining their power and au- 
thority. 

VI. Many individuals distinguished themselves 
by their opposition to the mendicant orders. 
Among these were Richard, Archbishop of Ar- 
magh in Ireland, and John de Polliac, a Parisian 
doctor. But among the foes of the mendicant or- 
ders, no one has obtained greater fame with pos- 
terity, than John Wickliffe, an English doctor, and 
professor of theology, at Oxford. Wickliffe was 
a hard student, a great scholar for that age, a sar- 
castic writer, and an able disputant. In the year 
1360, he distinguished himself, by becoming the 
advocate of the University, against the mendicant 
monks, who infringed the laws of the University, 
and enticed the students away to their monaste- 
ries. He afterwards attacked not only the monks, 
but also the popes and the clergy ; and confuted 
the prevailing errors of the day, both as to the 
doctrines of Christianity, and the constitution of the 
Christian church. In consequence, he was accus- 
ed, and several efforts made to effect his trial ; but 
in various ways, providence seemed to protect 
him, so that at last he died in peace, A. D. 1384. 



204 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

His doctrines, however were condemned, and some 
forty or fifty years afterward, his bones were dug 
up and publicly burnt ! 

WicklifFe has been fitly called the Morning Star 
of the Reformation. He translated the whole 
Bible, from the Latin Vulgate into English ; and 
maintained all the leading doctrines afterwards 
maintained by Luther, and others of the Reform- 
ers. The charges brought against him, extracted 
from his public lectures and sermons, were as fol- 
lows : " That there is one only universal church, 
consisting of the whole body of the predestinate. — 
That the eucharist, after consecration, was not the 
real body of Christ, but only an emblem or sign 
of it. That the church of Rome was no more the 
head of the universal church, than any other 
church : and that St. Peter had no greater author- 
ity given him, than the rest of the apostles. — That 
bishop and presbyter, in the apostolic Church, 
were the same. — That the pope had no more ju- 
risdiction in the exercise of the keys, than any 
other priest. — That if the church misbehaved, it 
was not only lawful, but meritorious, to dispossess 
her of her temporalities. — That when a prince or 
temporal lord was convinced that the church made 
an ill use of her endowments, he was bound, un- 
der pain of damnation, to take them away. — That 
the gospel was sufficient to direct a Christian in 
the conduct of his life. — That neither the pope, nor 
any other prelate, ought to have prisons for the 
punishing of offenders against the discipline of the , 
church." 

VII. Great contests arose among the Francis- 
cans, between the Spirituals, (called also Fratri- 
celli,) who were for adhering to the strict rule of 
poverty, and severe discipline, prescribed by St. 



FOURTEENTH CENTURY. 205 

Francis ; and those who were for a laxer disci- 
pline, which had been sanctioned by the popes, 
and who were called Brethren of the community. 
These latter were the most numerous, and were 
supported by Roman pontiffs, by whose authority 
their rule had been relaxed. They wore long, 
loose, and good habits, with ample hoods, or cov- 
erings for their heads, and in the seasons of har- 
vest and vintage, they laid up corn in their grana- 
ries, and wine in their cellars. The Spirituals were 
very numerous in France and elsewhere. They 
wore straight, short, sordid, and vile garments, 
with small hoods, and laid up nothing in store, 
but relied wholly upon charity for a subsistence. 
They denied the right of the popes to alter the 
rule of their founder, which they regarded as the 
true gospel of Christ, and dictated by God him- 
self, and therefore not subject to the power of the 
pontiffs. This brought upon them the hot dis- 
pleasure of these successors of St. Peter, who nev- 
er could permit their power and prerogatives to be 
touched with impunity. — From this time, (A. D. 
1318) therefore, not only in France, but also in 
Italy. Spain, and Germany, an immense number 
of the defenders of the rule of St. Francis, Fratri- 
celli, Beghards, and Spirituals, were cruelly put 
to death, by means of the Inquisitors, who were 
required to seize upon them wherever they could 
be found. 

Another violent contest arose respecting the po- 
verty of Christ and his apostles. The Francis- 
cans as a body, maintained that Christ and his 
apostles possessed nothing, by way of property or 
dominion, either in common or individually. This 
the Dominicans denied, and were supported by 
the decision of the pope ; who pronounced it to be 
18 



206 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

a heresy, pestiferous, erroneous, damnable, blas- 
phemous, and opposed to the catholic faith ; and 
ordered that all who professed it, should be ac- 
counted heretics, contumacious, and rebels against 
the church. The consequence of this edict was, 
that many were seized and committed to the flames, 
by their enemies, the Dominican Inquisitors. 

VIII. In the early part of this century, there 
arose at Antwerp the sect of the Cellites, called 
also the Brethren and Sisters of Alexius, because 
they had St. Alexius for their patron saint. They 
made it their business to wait on the sick and the 
dying, who were numerous at that time from the 
prevalence of the plague, and attended to the burial 
of such as died. On account of their singing fune- 
ral dirges on such occasions, they were also called 
Lollards. The example of these good people was 
followed by many others ; and in a short time, 
over the greater part of Germany and the Nether- 
lands, societies were formed of such Lollards, of 
both sexes, who were supported partly by their 
own labour, and partly by the munificence of those 
whom they served, and of other pious persons. 
The term Lollard, however, seems to have been 
applied as a reproachful epithet to many different 
sects, as denoting one who concealed great vices 
and pernicious sentiments, under the mask of great 
piety. But there is a diversity of opinion among 
authors, in regard to this matter. 

IX. The religion and theology of this age must 
be acknowledged to be very degenerate and cor- 
rupt, both as taught in the schools, and as exhibi- 
ted for governing the conduct and lives of men. 
In explaining and inculcating the doctrines of re- 
ligion, most of the Greeks and Latins followed 
the principles of the Peripatetic philosophy. In 



FOURTEENTH CENTURY. 207 

this class, John Duns Scotus, an Englishman, was 
among the most distinguished. There were some, 
indeed, who condemned this method of philoso- 
phizing on religious subjects, and who endeavoured 
to draw the attention of students in theology to the 
Holy Scriptures. Hence there were fierce dis- 
putes every where, but especially in the most dis- 
tinguished universities, as those of Paris and Ox- 
ford, between the biblical and philosophical theo- 
logians. Moreover the scholastic doctors, or phi- 
losophical divines, had great controversies among 
themselves, on various subjects. Abundant matter 
for these contests was afforded by John Duns 
Scotus, who, being of the Franciscan order, and 
envious of the Dominicans, attacked certain doc- 
trines of Thomas Aquinas, and maintained that 
they were untrue. The Dominicans united to 
defend the brother of their order, who was the 
oracle of the schools ; and on the other hand, the 
Franciscans gathered around Scotus, as a doctor 
that descended from heaven. Thus the two most 
powerful orders, the Dominicans and the Francis- 
cans, were again pitted against each other ; and 
the famous sects of the Scotists and Thomists, 
were produced, which still divide the schools of 
the Latins. These schools disagree respecting 
the nature of divine co-operation, the measure of 
divine grace necessary to man's salvation, the 
unity of form in man or personal identity, and 
'many other subjects. But nothing procured Sco- 
tus greater glory, than his defence and demon- 
stration in opposition to the Dominicans, of what 
is called the immaculate conception of the Virgin 
Mary. 

X. Ceremonies were still increased. Innocent 
V. commanded Christians to observe festal days, 



208 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

in memory of the spear that pierced the Saviour's 
side, of the nails that fastened him to the cross, 
and of the crown of thorns, which he wore at his 
death. John XXII. ordered Christians to annex 
to their prayers the words with which the angel 
Gabriel saluted the Virgin Mary, Ave Maria, &c. 
Benedict XII. sanctioned the senseless fable of the 
Franciscans, respecting the impression of the 
wounds of Christ upon their founder, by ordaining 
a festival to commemorate that event. 

XI. In the Latin church, the Waldenses, the 
Cathari, the Apostoli, the Beghards, the Beguins, 
the Brethren and Sisters of the free spirit, the 
Lollards, &c, gave work enough to the officers 
of the holy Inquisition. About the middle of the 
century, a new sect of Flagellants rose up in Ger- 
many, and roaming through various countries, 
created excitement among the people. They 
were of every order, sex, and age, and taught that 
flagellation was of equal efficacy with baptism and 
the other sacraments, and that by it might be ob- 
tained from God the forgiveness of all sins, with- 
out the merits of Christ, &c. Quite different from 
them was the sect of the Dancers, which origin- 
ated at Aix la Chapelle in the year 1373, and 
thence spread through the district of Liege, Hai- 
nault, and other Belgic provinces. Persons of 
both sexes, publicly and in private houses, sud- 
denly broke into a dance, and holding each other 
by the hand, danced with great violence till they 
fell down nearly exhausted. Amidst those violent 
movements, they said they were favoured with 
wonderful visions. They also wandered about 
like the Flagellants, and lived by begging. They 
esteemed the public worship of the church and of 
„he priesthood, of little value, and held secret as- 



FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 209 

semblies. The Knights Templars were accused 
of enormous crimes; and, in the year 1311, the 
whole order was suppressed by the council of 
Vienne. Their very ample possessions were 
transferred in part to other orders, especially to the 
Knights of St. John, and in part were confiscated 
by the reigning sovereigns. 



CENTURY XV, 

1, Spread of popery, and depression of the Greek church.— 
2. Revival of learning in Western Europe. — 3. Corruption 
of the popish church. — 4. Western schism, and Council of 
Constance. — 5. John Huss and Jerome burnt. — 6. Council 
of Bale. — 7. Religious fraternities. — 8. Lollards, Waldenses, 
Cahxtines, and Taborites. — 9. Fanatical sects. 

I. Near the close of this century, Ferdinand, king 
of Spain, by the conquest of Grenada, (A. D. 
1492,) wholly subverted the dominion of the 
Moors or Saracens in Spain. Efforts were made, 
both by persuasions and civil penalties, to induce 
them to embrace Christianity ; but with little suc- 
cess. About this time, vast multitudes of Jews 
were ordered into banishment by Ferdinand, un- 
less they would embrace Christianity ; w T hich 
many of them did in an insincere and hypocritical 
manner. And to the present day, many Jews 
exist in Spain and Portugal, who pretend to be 
Christians. It was near the close of this century 
that the Portuguese navigators doubled the Cape 
of Good Hope, and penetrated to India and Ethi- 
opia ; and Christopher Columbus, in the year 
18* 



210 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

1492, discovered a new world.. It was thought 
incumbent to send Christianity to these newly dis- 
covered countries, which was first attempted by 
the Portuguese, among the Africans of the king- 
dom of Congo ; whose king with all his subjects, 
at once received the Romish religion. Pope Al- 
exander VI. divided America between the Span- 
iards and Portuguese, and strongly enjoined it 
upon both nations, not to suffer the inhabitants of 
the islands and the continent to continue longer 
ignorant of the true religion. Many of the Fran- 
ciscans and Dominicans were sent to those coun- 
tries to convert the natives to Christ. 

Christianity in the East, was almost wholly 
obliterated by the Turks and Tartars, who em- 
braced the Mohammedan faith, and spread their 
conquests and their religion in almost every direc- 
tion. The capture of Constantinople by the 
Turks, in the year 1453, brought the glory of the 
Greek church to an end ; nor had the Christians 
any protection against the daily oppression and 
wrongs of the victors, or any means of resisting 
the torrent of ignorance and barbarism that rushed 
in upon them. 

II. These events were almost fatal to learning 
in the east, but tended to promote it in the west. 
After Constantinople fell into the hands of the 
Turks, great numbers of learned Greeks migrated 
into the different countries of Europe, and particu- 
larly into Italy ; where they were encouraged, 
and became the instructors of youth, and transla- 
tors of ancient authors, and thereby greatly pro- 
moted the cause of literature in the west. Some 
of the popes distinguished themselves as the patrons 
of learning ; also many of the kings and princes, 
by their protection and extraordinary munificence, 



FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 211 

aided literary men, established universities, col- 
lected libraries, and thus advanced the cause of 
science. Among these the family of the Medici 
in Italy, and Alphonsus VI. king of Naples, ac- 
quired permanent fame by their liberality and 
their attachment to learning. About the year 
1440, the art of printing was discovered, which 
also contributed greatly to the cause of learning 
by rendering books cheap and common. The 
place where this art was discovered, as well as 
the person by whom, are in dispute. Three 
places claim the honour, Haerlem, Mentz, and 
Strasburg. John Guttemberg was probably the 
inventor of movable types, who entered into 
partnership with John Faust, at Mentz, though it 
is probable that printing with carved blocks had 
been practised before. The Platonic philosophy 
was again revived in this century, and came into 
competition with the Aristotelian, which had long 
borne sway in the schools. In France and Ger- 
many, the contests between the Realists and 
Nominalists were fiercely maintained ; and some- 
times not only by arguments, but by penal laws, 
and the force of arms. There was scarcely a 
university that was not disturbed by this war. 

III. The deplorable corruption of the dominant 
church in this age, in all its parts and members, 
from the highest to the lowest, is acknowledged 
on all hands. Many of the popes were distin- 
guished for nothing more than for their various 
crimes and wickedness. Ambition, avarice, fraud, 
and sensuality, were commonly practised among 
them. John XXIII. was removed from the pon- 
tificate by the council of Constance, under the 
charge of various crimes, among which were the 
following: — simony, extortion, poisoning, adul- 



212 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

tery, incest, the sale of ecclesiastical benefices, and 
perjury. Sixtus IV. had sixteen illegitimate child- 
ren, whom he took special care to provide for and 
enrich. But of all the popes of this age, perhaps 
Roderic Borgia, who assumed the name of Alex- 
ander VI., excelled in wickedness. He has been 
called the Catiline of the popes ; and the villa- 
nies, crimes, and enormities recorded of him, are 
so many and so great, that it must be certain that 
he was destitute, not only of all religion, but also 
of decency and shame. The most of the monastic 
orders were filled with ignorant, lazy, dishonest, 
and debauched people, as evinced by numerous 
documents, and the testimony of all the best his- 
torians. The mendicant monks, particularly the 
Dominicans and Franciscans, gave as great of- 
fence, by their arrogance, their quarrelsome tem- 
per, their invasion of the rights of others, their 
superstition, and their vain disputes about religion, 
as the opulent monks did by their luxury, their 
laziness, their hatred of learning and science, and 
their vices. 

The religion of this age consisted chiefly in 
vain and senseless ceremonies, and few thought 
of any thing further. Yet doubtless there were a 
few who were truly pious, although shrouded in 
the mists of superstition and human inventions. 
Such was Thomas a Kempis, whose book on the 
Imitation of Christ, has been translated into 
many languages, and is read at the present day. 
Theology took its form pretty much from the dif- 
ferent schools in which it was taught ; and Plato 
and Aristotle had nearly as much authority as the 
word of God. Yet there were some who con- 
demned the scholastic subtilty, and endless wrang- 
ling of the dialecticians, as being destructive to 



FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 213 

religion and piety. Such was John Gerson, one 
of the greatest men of his age. A dispute arose 
in 1462, upon this question, — whether the blood 
of Christ was distinct from his divine nature or 
not ; and of course, whether it ought to receive 
divine worship or not. The Franciscans espoused 
the affirmative, and the Dominicans the negative. 
The pope, not being able to suppress the con- 
troversy, imposed silence on both the contending 
parties, declaring that both opinions might be 
tolerated, until he should have leisure and oppor- 
tunity to examine which was most correct. 

IV. At the beginning of this century, there 
were two popes — one at Rome, and the other at 
Avignon — each claiming to be the regular de- 
scendant of St. Peter. And in the year 1409, a 
third was created by a council held at Pisa. Thus 
was the church divided between three pontiffs, 
who fiercely assailed each other with reciprocal 
excommunications, reproaches, and maledictions. 
This schism of the West, which had existed 
for half a century, and been the cause of so 
many evils, was finally healed by the council of 
Constance, which met, A. D. 1414, and continued 
its sessions for three years and a half. This 
council, which claimed to be general, and to 
represent the whole church, established, by seve- 
ral decrees, the supreme authority of a general 
council over the whole church, and over the pope ; 
a doctrine very unwelcome to the Roman pontiffs, 
and strongly opposed by them. These decrees I 
translate from the Latin as follows : — " This sa- 
cred synod of Constance, constituting a general 
council, for the extirpation of this schism, and the 
union and reformation of the church of God in its 



214 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

head and in its members, ordains, defines, decrees, 
and declares, as follows : — 

" And first it declares, That this synod, law- 
fully assembled in the Holy Spirit, constituting a 
general council, and representing the catholic 
church, has its power immediately from Christ, 
to which every one, of whatever grade or dignity, 
even if he be the pope, is bound to be obedient in 
those things that pertain to faith, the extirpation 
of the above mentioned schism, and the reforma- 
tion of the catholic church in its head and in its 
members. 

" It declares likewise, That whoever he be, of 
whatever condition, grade, dignity, even if he be 
pope, who shall contemptuously refuse obedience 
to the commands, statutes, or ordinances, or pre- 
cepts of this sacred synod, and of any other gene- 
ral council, lawfully called, in regard to the fore- 
named things, done, or to be done, or pertaining 
to them, unless he repent, shall be subjected to 
condign penance, and shall be duly punished, 
even by a recurrence to the civil arm, if need so 
require." 

V. It was by this council of Constance that 
John Huss and Jerome of Prague were con- 
demned as heretics, and burnt. They were 
among; the morning stars of the Reformation. 
The following account is given of Huss. " His 
doctrines and books being condemned, he was 
required to recant; but he magnanimously re- 
fused : and, on the 7th of July, 1415, the coun- 
cil ordered that he should be degraded from the 
priesthood, his books publicly burnt, and himself 
delivered to the secular power. That sentence he 
heard without emotion. He immediately prayed 



FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 215 

for the pardon of his enemies. The bishops ap- 
pointed by the council stripped him of his priestly 
garments, and put a mitre of paper on his head, 
on which devils were painted, with this inscrip- 
tion, A Ringleader of Heretics. The bishops 
delivered him to the emperor, and he delivered 
him to the duke of Bavaria. His books were 
burnt at the gate of the church, and he was led 
to the suburbs, to be burnt alive. Prior to his 
execution, he made a solemn, public appeal to 
God, from the judgment of the pope and council, 
which was fervent and energetic. He was then 
surrounded with fagots, his mind all the while 
composed and happy. The flames were then ap- 
plied to the fagots ; when the martyr sang a 
hymn, with so loud and cheerful a voice, that he 
was distinctly heard through all the noise of the 
combustibles and of the multitude. At length, he 
uttered, ' Jesus Christ, thou Son of the living 
God, have mercy on me !' and he was consumed ; 
after which, his ashes were carefully collected 
and thrown into the Rhine. Huss was a true 
ecclesiastic, and a real Christian ; — gentle and 
condescending to the opinions of others, this ami- 
able pattern of virtue was strict only in his prin- 
ciples. His great contest was with vice. His 
piety was cairn, rational, and manly; his forti- 
tude was undaunted. * From his infancy, 5 said 
the university of Prague, ' he was of such excel- 
lent morals, that during his stay here, we may 
venture to challenge any one to produce a single 
fault against him.' His writings were simple, 
pious, affectionate, and intelligent. Luther said 
he was the most rational expounder of Scripture 
he ever met with." 

A distinct idea may be formed of the opinions 



216 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

of Huss by stating, that they agreed, in almost 
every particular, with those of WicklifTe. Indeed 
it was from the Bible and the writings of WicklifTe 
that Huss formed his creed. His friend, Jerome 
of Prague, adopted the same opinions, and was 
devoted to the same studies. Jerome was inferior 
to Huss in age, but equal to him in piety, and his 
superior in learning, taste, and eloquence. He was 
brought before the council of Constance ; made 
a speech of wonderful power and eloquence in 
his own defence ; but was condemned and burnt 
in a few weeks after the martyrdom of his friend 
Huss. 

This council also condemned John WicklifTe, 
long since dead ; and ordered all his books to be 
destroyed and his bones to be burnt. The same 
council passed the famous decree, that the sacred 
supper should be administered to the laity, in the 
element of bread only, forbidding the communion 
in both kinds. But it finally broke up without 
attempting a reformation of the church in its head 
and in its members, as the language of the time 
then was. This important work, acknowledged 
on all hands to be so necessary, was deferred to a 
council to be called at the end of five years. 

VI. The assembling of this council was delay- 
ed more than twice five years ; but at length, on 
the 23d of July, 1431, it commenced at Basil, or 
Bale, under the presidency of cardinal Julian, as 
representative of the pontiff. But pope Eugene 
IV. soon began to apprehend, from the materials 
and movements of this council, that they really 
intended in good earnest, to do what they had been 
directed to do ; and therefore made two attempts 
to dissolve it. This the fathers most firmly resist- 
ed ; and they showed by the decrees of the coun- 



FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 217 

cil of Constance, and by other arguments, that 
the council was superior in authority to a pontiff. 
The pope therefore yielded for the present, and 
gave his sanction to the proceedings of the council. 
After the council had continued its sessions for sev- 
eral years, and had made some progress in their 
reforming system, and were about to proceed to 
other things very ungrateful to the pontiff, Eugene 
determined, that this audacious and troublesome 
council, must either be removed to Italy, to be more 
under his control ; or must be checked by another 
council in opposition to it. He, by his legates, de- 
cided that the council should be held in Italy ; they 
continued their deliberations at Basil. He dissolved 
the council, and appointed another at Ferrara ; 
which met, A. D. 1438, and excommunicated the 
fathers assembled at Basil. They, on the other 
hand, provoked by these and other acts of Eugene, 
proceeded on the 25th of June, 1439, to deprive 
him of the pontificate ; and shortly after appointed 
another in his room. Thus we have a new schism 
of the church, even worse than the old — with not 
only two contending popes, but also with two op- 
posing councils. 

VII. The Fratricelli, Beghards, &c, continued 
to be persecuted by the Inquisitors, and many of 
them were committed to the flames ; others were 
imprisoned, or exiled. A religious fraternity was 
founded in this century, called Brethren and Clerks 
of the common life, living under the rule of St. 
Augustine. The sect was divided into the litera- 
ry brethren, or the Clerks, and the unlearned 
Brethren ; who lived in different houses, but in the 
greatest friendship. The Clerks devoted them* 
selves to transcribing books, the cultivation of po- 
lite learning, and the instruction of youth ; and 
19 



218 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

erected schools wherever they went. The Breth- 
ren laboured with their hands, and pursued various 
mechanic trades. Neither were under the restraint 
of religious vows ; but they ate at a common table, 
and held a community of goods. The schools of 
these Clerks of the common life were very cele- 
brated in this century ; and in them were trained 
nearly all the restorers of polite learning in Ger- 
many and Holland. Among these was the great 
Erasmus of Rotterdam. The writers of this cen- 
tury constitute a host ; but there are none of them 
that need to be particularly named. 

VIII. The followers of Wickliffe, in England, 
who were called Lollards, continued to testify 
against the decisions of the pope and the conduct 
of the clergy ; and the Waldenses, though oppress- 
ed and persecuted on all sides, ceased not to pro- 
claim aloud from their obscure valleys, and re- 
mote hiding places, that succour must be afforded 
to religion and piety, now almost extinct. But in 
Bohemia, after the death of Huss, and Jerome of 
Prague, religious controversies broke out in fierce 
and deadly war. The friends of Huss, being per- 
secuted and oppressed, seized upon a high and 
rugged mountain, which they called Tabor, where 
they first lived in tents, but afterwards fortified 
themselves, and built a regular city. Their lead- 
er was John Ziska. A very cruel and inhuman war 
was carried on, on both sides. But when multi- 
tudes of all sorts of persons had joined their 
standard, there arose great contention among them- 
selves ; which resulted in an open schism, dividing 
them into two principal factions, the Calixtines, and 
the Taborites. Of these the Calixtines were much 
the most moderate. All they required was sum- 
med up in these four things : — " 1. That the word 



FIFTEENTH! CENTURY. 219 

of God might be preached in its purity and sim- 
plicity to the people : — 2. That the sacred supper 
might be administered in both kinds : — 3. That 
the clergy might be recalled from the pursuit of 
wealth and power, to a life and conduct becoming 
the successors of the apostles : — 4. That the great- 
er or mortal sins might be duly punished." The 
Taborites, on the other hand, extended their de- 
mands much further, and wished to overturn eve- 
ry thing ; and to establish an entirely new church, 
and commonwealth, in which Christ himself should 
reign, and every thing be conducted according to 
divine dictation. They imbibed the most ferocious 
sentiments, and breathed nothing but war and 
blood against their enemies. Their sentiments 
are expressed in the following language. 

" All the opposers of Christ's law, ought to per- 
ish with the seven last plagues, to inflict which the 
faithful are to be called forth. In this time of ven- 
geance, Christ is not to be imitated in his mildness 
and pity towards those sinners, but in his zeal, 
and fury, and just retribution. In this time of 
vengeance, every believer, even a presbyter, how- 
ever spiritual, is accursed, if he withhold his ma- 
terial sword from the blood of the adversaries of 
Christ's law ; for he ought to wash and sanctify 
his hands in their blood." They afterwards, how- 
ever, reformed and corrected their society ; and 
from them descended the Bohemian Brethren, who 
in the time of the Reformation, entered into alliance 
with Luther and his associates, and whose descend- 
ants still exist in Poland and elsewhere, under the 
name of Moravians. 

IX. Several fanatical sects arose, or revived 
during this century, and gave work to the vigilant 
Inquisitors, which they were not slow to perform. 



220 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

The Brethren and Sisters of the free Spirit con- 
tinued to wander over the countries of Europe, and 
many of them were put to death. 

Another sect sprung up in the Netherlands, called 
the Men of Understanding. Although in some 
things they seem to have had very correct views, 
and held important truths, yet with these they 
mingled egregious error. They pretended to be 
honoured with celestial visions — denied that any 
one could correctly understand the Holy Scrip- 
tures, without extraordinary divine illumination, 
and declared the approach of a new revelation, bet- 
ter and more perfect than the Christian. They 
said that the resurrection w T as already accomplish- 
ed in the person of Jesus, and no other was to be 
expected ; that the inward man was not defiled by 
the outward actions, whatever they were ; that the 
pains of hell were to have an end ; and not only 
all mankind, but even the devils themselves, were 
to return to God, and be made partakers of eter- 
nal felicity, 

" In Germany, and particularly in Thuringia, 
and Lower Saxony, the Flagellants were still 
troublesome ; but they were very different from 
those earlier Flagellants, who travelled in regular 
bands from province to province. These new 
Flagellants rejected almost all practical religion, 
and the external worship of God, together with the 
sacraments ; and founded all their hopes of salva- 
tion on faith and flagellation." Their leader, Con- 
rad Schmidt, was burnt by the Inquisition, with 
many others, in the year 1414. 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 221 



CENTURY XYI. 

CHAPTER L 

CAUSES LEADING TO THE REFORMATION. 



1. Corrupt state of the church.— 2. Profligate lives of the popes. 
— 3. Profligacy of the clergy. — 4. Monks. — 5. Inquisition, 
and ignorance of spiritual teachers. — 6. Indulgences — 7. Re- 
vival of learning. — 8. Witnesses for the truth. 



We now enter upon that important and interesting 
portion of Church History called the Reformation. 
No event, since the first promulgation of Christ- 
ianity by Christ and the apostles, has been of great- 
er importance to the world, than the Reformation 
from popery, effected by Luther and his coadjutors. 
We shall first notice the state of the church that 
led to this result, made such a change desirable, 
and prepared the minds of people for it. 

I. The degenerate and corrupt state of the whole 
church was such as to create general disgust and 
complaint. Not only individuals, but the most 
powerful sovereigns, and even whole nations had 
uttered their complaints against the haughty domi- 
nation of the Roman pontiffs, the frauds, the vio- 
lence, the avarice, and injustice of the court of 
Rome ; the insolence, the tyranny, and the extor- 
tion of the papal legates ; the crimes, the ignorance, 
and the extreme profligacy of the priests of all or- 
ders, and of the monks ; and finally the un- 
19* 



222 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

righteous severity, and the partiality of the Roman 
laws ; and desires were now publicly expressed, as 
had been the case for generations past, that there 
might be a reformation of the church, in its head 
and in its members, and that the subject might be 
taken up in some general council. 

II. But to be more particular, the abominably 
wicked and profligate conduct of the popes them- 
selves, gave very great and general offence. — 
While they claimed to be the sole head of the 
church on earth, and the vicars of Christ ; many 
of them were most profane, wicked, and sottish in 
their lives. Such being the character of the popes 
themselves, every attempt at a reformation of the 
church, was evaded or resisted. 

III. " The subordinate rulers and teachers of 
the church, eagerly followed the example of their 
head and leader. Most of the bishops, with the 
canons their associates, led luxurious and jovial 
lives, in the daily commission of sins, and squan- 
dered in the gratification of their lusts, those funds, 
which the preceding generations had consecrated 
to God, and to the relief of the poor. Most of 
them also treated the people subject to their con- 
trol, much more rigorously and harshly, than civil 
magistrates and princes treated their dependents. 
The greater part of the priests, on account of 
their indolence, their unchastity, their avarice, 
their love of pleasure, their ignorance, and their 
levity, were regarded with utter contempt not 
only by the wise and good, but likewise by the 
common people. For, as sacred offices were now 
every where bought and sold, it was difficult for 
honest and pious men to get possession of any good 
living in the church, but very easy for the vicious 
and unprincipled." 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 223 

IV. " The immense swarm of monks produced 
every where great grievances and complaints. — 
Yet this age, which stood intermediate between 
light and darkness, would patiently have borne with 
this indolent throng, if they had exhibited some 
show of piety and decorum. But the Benedic- 
tines, and the other orders which were allowed to 
possess lands and fixed revenues, abused their 
wealth, and rushed headlong into every species of 
vice, regardless altogether of the rules they pro- 
fessed. The Mendicant orders, on the contrary, 
and especially those who professed to follow the 
rules of Dominic and Francis, by their rustic im- 
pudence, their ridiculous superstition, their ignor- 
ance and cruelty, their rude and brutish conduct, 
alienated the minds of most people from them." 
The opposition and rivalry that existed between 
the Dominicans and Franciscans was also the 
means of bringing to light and exposing more fully 
the vices and frauds practised by both. 

V. The monstrous tribunal of the Inquisition, 
too, over which the Dominicans every where pre- 
sided, and by which multitudes of worthy persons 
were destroyed, was calculated to render the 
people dissatisfied, and desirous of a change. 
Learning began now to be diffused and culti- 
vated ; and many were disgusted with the utter 
ignorance of many who pretended to be teachers 
and rulers in the church, and especially their en- 
tire unacquaintance with the Scriptures; which 
began now, by means of printing, and the revival 
of learning, to be more known and read. Many 
of the doctors of theology of those times had 
never read the Bible. Even in the university of 
Paris, which was considered as the mother and 
queen of all the rest, not a man could be found, 



224 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

when Luther arose, competent to dispute with him 
out of the Scriptures. Those who delivered ser- 
mons, (which many of the clergy were not able 
to do,) beguiled the ears of the people with pre- 
tended miracles, ridiculous fables, wretched quib- 
bles, and similar trash, thrown together without 
judgment. They vociferated by the hour on the 
authority of holy mother church, — the influence 
of the saints with God, the dignity, kindness, and 
glory of the Virgin Mary, — the efficacy of relics, 
— the enriching of churches and monasteries, — 
the necessity of what they called good works in 
order to salvation, — the intolerable flames of pur- 
gatory, — and the utility of indulgences. 

VI. But nothing contributed more directly to 
the Reformation than the extravagant sale and 
abuse of indulgences, " Indulgences, in the 
Romish church, are a remission of the punish- 
ment due to sin, granted by the church, and sup- 
posed to save the sinner from purgatory. Ac- 
cording to the doctrine of the Romish church, all 
the good works of the saints, over and above 
those that were necessary for their own justifica- 
tion, are deposited, together with the infinite 
merits of Jesus Christ, in an inexhaustible trea- 
sury. The keys of this were committed to St. 
Peter, and to his successors, the popes, who may 
open it at pleasure ; and, by transferring a por- 
tion of this superabundant merit to any particular 
person for a sum of money, may convey to him 
either the pardon of his own sins, or a release of 
any one for whom he is interested, from the pains 
of purgatory. Such indulgences were first in- 
vented in the eleventh century, by Urban II., as 
a recompense to those who went in person upon 
the glorious enterprise of conquering the Holy 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 225 

Land. They were afterwards granted to any one 
who hired a soldier for that purpose ; and, in pro- 
cess of time, were bestowed on such as gave mo- 
ney for accomplishing any pious work enjoined 
by the pope. The power of granting indulgences 
has been greatly abused in the church of Rome. 
Pope Leo X., in order to carry on the magnificent 
structure of St. Peter's at Rome, published indul- 
gences, and a plenary permission to all such as 
should contribute money towards it. Finding the 
project take, he granted to Albert, elector of 
Mentz, and archbishop of Magdeburg, the benefit 
of the indulgences of Saxony, and the neighbour- 
ing parts, and farmed out those of other countries 
to the highest bidders ; who, to make the best of 
their bargain, procured the ablest preachers to 
cry up the value of the ware. The form of these 
indulgences was as follows : — " May our Lord 
Jesus Christ have mercy upon thee, and absolve 
thee by the merits of his most holy passion. And 
I, by his authority, that of his blessed apostles, 
Peter and Paul, and of the most holy pope, 
granted and committed to me in these parts, do 
absolve thee, first from all ecclesiastical censures, 
in whatever manner they have been incurred ; 
then from all thy sins, transgressions, and ex- 
cesses, how enormous soever they may be ; even 
from such as are reserved for the cognizance of 
the holy see, and as far as the keys of the holy 
church extend. I remit to you all punishment 
which you deserve in purgatory on their account ; 
and I restore you to the holy sacraments of the 
church, to the union of the faithful, and to the 
innocence and purity which you possessed at 
baptism ; so that when you die, the gates of pun- 
ishment shall be shut, and the gates of the para- 



226 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

dise of delights shall be opened : and if you shall 
not die at present, this grace shall remain in full 
force when you are at the point of death. In 
the name of the Father, the Son, and the Hoiy 
Ghost." 

The terms in which the retailers of indulgences 
described their benefits, and the necessity of pur- 
chasing them, were so extravagant, that they ap- 
pear almost incredible. If any man, said they, 
purchase letters of indulgence, his soul may rest 
secure with respect to its salvation. The souls 
confined in purgatory, for whose redemption in- 
dulgences are purchased, as soon as the money 
tinkles in the chest, instantly escape from that 
place of torment, and ascend into heaven. The 
efficacy of indulgences is so great, that the most 
heinous sins will be remitted and expiated by 
them, and the person be freed both from punish- 
ment and guilt. This, it was said, is the un- 
speakable gift of God, in order to reconcile man 
to himself; and the cross erected by the preach- 
ers of indulgences is equally efficacious with the 
cross of Christ itself. " Lo," said they, "the 
heavens are open ; if you enter not now, when 
will you enter? For twelve pence, you may re- 
deem the soul of your father out of purgatory : 
and are you so ungrateful that you will not rescue 
the soul of your parent from torment? If you 
had but one coat, you ought to strip yourself in- 
stantly, and sell it, in order to purchase such a 
benefit," &c. It was this great abuse that con- 
tributed not a little to the reformation of religion 
in Germany, when Martin Luther began first to 
declaim against the preachers of indulgences, 
and afterwards against indulgences themselves. 

VII. Another thing that contributed to the 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 227 

Reformation was the revival of learning, by 
means of the emigration of learned Greeks to the 
West, the translation of ancient authors, and the 
art of printing. This brought the ignorance of 
the priests and monks into contempt, and de- 
stroyed in a great degree their influence, And 
many learned men of that day, as the great Eras- 
mus of Rotterdam, turned the keen edge of their 
satire and ridicule against the ignorant priests 
and monks, and the superstitions of the church ; 
which had no small influence in making way for 
the Reformation. It was even said that Erasmus 
laid the egg which Luther hatched. 

VIII. Some rays of true light had also shone 
out upon the world from the obscure retreat of the 
Waldenses, from the writings and preaching of 
WicklifFe, and of Huss, and Jerome of Prague, 
and their Bohemian Brethren, and other obscure 
sects, among whom the truth was still held. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE REFORMATION. 



1. Luther opposes indulgences. — 2. Pope's first bull, which 
Luther burns. — 3. Joined by Melancthon. — 4. Luther at 
Worms. 5. Carolostadt.— 6. Zwingle. — 7. Dispute among 
the Reformers. — 8. War of the Peasants. — 9. Diets of Spire 
— 10. Anabaptists. — 11. Council of Trent, and the pacifica- 
tion ratified at Augsburgh.— 12. England. — 13. Scotland. — 
14. Ireland.— 15. Netherlands. 

I. All these circumstances combining their influ- 
ence to make way for the Reformation, and pre- 



228 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

paring the minds of the people for such an event 
it yet commenced, as we may say, by accident, 
and without any ultimate view to such a result. 
Martin Luther, an Augustinian friar, and professor 
of theology in the university of Wittemberg, was 
a man of superior talents, learning, and eloquence. 
By the reading and study of the Scriptures, his 
mind was enlightened to see many of the errors 
that existed in the Romish church. He therefore 
took great offence at the impudent and extravagant 
manner in which John Tetzel preached the sale of 
indulgences. This man, without modesty or shame, 
had been employed by the archbishop of Mentz, 
and Magdeburg, on account of his impudence, to 
preach indulgences to the Germans, in the name 
of the Roman pontiff, Leo X. In the performance 
of this office, he extolled the merit and efficacy of 
his wares, so extravagantly, as impiously to de- 
tract from the merits of Jesus Christ. Hence 
Luther, moved with just indignation, publicly ex- 
posed at Wittemberg, on the first day of October, 
1517, ninety-five propositions ; in which he chas- 
tised the madness of these indulgence-sellers gen- 
erally, and not obscurely censured the pope him- 
self, for suffering the people to be thus diverted 
from looking to Christ. A controversy therefore 
immediately arose between Luther and Tetzel who 
undertook to defend himself. Luther acknow- 
ledged the pontiff could remit the human punish- 
ments for sin, or those inflicted by the church ; 
but denied his power to absolve from the divine 
punishments, either of the present or future world ; 
and maintained that these divine punishments 
must be removed either by the merits of Jesus 
Christ, or by voluntary, penance endured by the 
sinner. Pope Leo at first thought this dispute 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 229 

between two monks a small matter, and took no 
account of it. But it was not long before he dis- 
covered that it was a serious business, and that 
the greater part of Germany was taking sides 
with Luther against the authority of the Roman 
see. 

II. Luther was summoned to appear before 
cardinal Cajetan, the pope's legate, at Augsburg, 
in the month of October, 1518. They had several 
interviews to no effect. Cajetan manifested no- 
thing like a spirit of conciliation ; but peremptorily 
required Luther humbly to confess his errors, 
without being convinced of them, and to submit 
his judgment to that of the pontiff. This he could 
not do ; and therefore appealed from the pontiff 
ill-informed, to the same when better informed. 
Another legate was appointed to confer with Lu- 
ther, of a more mild and conciliating disposition ; 
and he prevailed so far as to induce him to write 
a very submissive letter to Leo X. in which he 
promised to be silent, provided his enemies would 
also be so. Shortly after, Luther engaged in a 
public disputation with John Eckius, respecting the 
power and authority of the Roman pontiff. Eckius 
was greatly exasperated, and hastened to Rome, 
with a determination to effect his destruction. 
Associating with him Cajetan, and other influen- 
tial enemies of Luther, in the pontifical court, he 
prevailed on Leo X. to excommunicate him forth- 
with. The pope therefore, most imprudently, 
issued his first bull against Luther, on the 15th 
of June, 1520 ; in which forty-one tenets of his 
were condemned, his writings adjudged to the 
flames, and he was commanded to confess his 
faults within sixty days, and implore the clemency 
of the pontiff, or be cast out of the church. As 
20 



230 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

soon as Luther heard of this sentence of the pope, 
he first appealed to a general council ; but fore- 
seeing that this would avail him nothing, he formed 
the bold determination at once to withdraw from 
the Romish church, before he should be excom- 
municated by the second bull of the pontiff. In 
order that he might do this in a formal and public 
manner, on the 10th of Dec, 1520, he caused a 
fire to be kindled without the walls of the city, and 
in the presence of a vast multitude of spectators, 
committed to the flames the bull issued against 
him, together with a copy of the pontifical canon 
law. By this he signified that he would be no 
longer a subject of the Roman pontiff, and conse- 
quently that the second decree that was daily ex- 
pected from Rome, would be nugatory. The pope's 
bull of excommunication arrived soon after. 

III. Having taken this bold step of publicly 
withdrawing from the church of Rome, it only 
remained to Luther and his adherents to attempt 
to found a new church, embracing doctrines more 
in conformity with the Holy Scriptures. From 
this time therefore he set out to search for the 
truth with renewed diligence ; revised and confir- 
med the opinions he had already advanced, and 
proceeding still further, attacked the very citadel 
of the pontifical authority, and shook it to the 
foundation. In this heroic enterprise, he had the 
aid of excellent men in various parts of Europe, as 
well as the doctors at Wittemberg, who joined his 
party, and especially Philip Melancthon. This 
amiable and excellent man, and profound scholar, 
proved to be a most important coadjutor, and next 
to Luther himself, acted the most conspicuous 
part in the Reformation. And as the fame of 
Luther's wisdom and heroism, and the great 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 231 

learning of Melancthon drew a great number of 
young men to Wittemberg, the principles of the 
Reformation were spread with great rapidity- 
through various nations. 

IV. In the mean time Maximilian I. emperor of 
Germany, died, and his grandson, Charles V. king 
of Spain, was elected his successor, A. D. 1519. 
Leo X. reminding Charles of the office he had 
assumed, of advocate and defender of the church, 
urged him to inflict due punishment upon that 
rebellious member of the church, Martin Luther. 
Charles, however, determined to give him a hear- 
ing, and therefore had him summoned to attend a 
diet to be assembled at Worms. Luther appeared 
at Worms, being protected by a safe conduct from 
the emperor, and boldly pleaded his cause before 
the diet. This journey to Worms was a hazard- 
ous undertaking, considering the power and 
malignity of his enemies. Even the emperor's 
safe conduct might not be a sufficient protection, 
as had been the case with John Huss. But 
Luther was firm, and being warned of the 
danger by his friends, he replied, that he would 
go thither, if there were as many devils there, 
as there were tiles upon the roofs of their 
houses. Luther made a manly and able defence 
before the diet, and concluded with these words : 
— "Let me then be refuted and convinced by 
the testimony of Scripture, or by the clearest 
arguments ; otherwise I cannot and will not 
recant, for it is neither safe nor expedient to act 
against conscience. Here I take my stand. I 
cannot do otherwise ; God help me ! Amen." 
But his enemies prevailed ; and, although he 
obtained the liberty of returning home unmo- 
lested, yet an edict was published after his de- 



232 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

parture, which declared him a schismatic and 
heretic, and put him under the ban of the em- 
pire. His friends foreseeing the storm that was 
coming upon him, arrested him in disguise on 
his return, and conducted him to the castle of 
Wartburg, where he lay concealed ten months, 
calling it his Patmos^ and beguiling the time 
very profitably in writing and study. 

V. While Luther remained in this retreat, An- 
drew Carolostadt, a learned doctor of Wittemberg, 
and colleague of Luther, with others, began to cre- 
ate disturbances, by attempting to carry forward 
the Reformation too rapidly. Having gathered 
the common people around him, he rushed into the 
cathedral church, destroyed the pictures and the 
altar, and hindered the priests from saying mass. 
Luther hastened to Wittemberg from his conceal- 
ment, and corrected this abuse, wisely declaring, 
that errors must first be extirpated from people's 
minds, before the insignia of those errors can be 
advantageously removed. 

VI. While these things were going on in Ger- 
many, a like wound had been inflicted on the papal 
power in the neighbouring Helvetia, by the dis- 
cerning and erudite Ulrich Zwingle, a canon and 
priest of Zurich. This reformer had indeed dis- 
covered some portion of the truth, before Luther 
commenced contending openly with the pope ; but 
being excited and instructed by his example and 
writings, he not only expounded the Holy Scrip- 
tures in public discourses, but in the year 1519, 
successfully opposed Bernardin Samson of Milan, 
who was impudently driving the same trade among 
the Swiss, that Tetzel had carried on among the 
Germans. 

VII. While the Reformation was thus rapidly 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 233 

advancing, both in Germany and Switzerland, a 
most unhappy contest arose among the reformers 
themselves, respecting the manner in which the 
body and blood of Christ are present in the sacred 
supper. Luther and his adherents, while they re- 
jected the Catholic dogma of transubstantiation ; 
i. e. that there is a transmutation of the substance 
of the bread and wine into the flesh and blood of 
Christ, yet held to consubstantiation, as it is call- 
ed ; i. e. that there is a real and corporeal presence 
of the body and blood of Christ, in, under, or 
along with the bread and wine ; so that the sacra- 
mental substances, after consecration, became each 
of them two-fold ; namely, the bread became both 
bread and the flesh of Christ, and the wine became 
both wine and the blood of Christ. On the other 
hand, Carolostadt, and after him Zwingle, CEco- 
lampadius,Bucer, &c. maintained that the elements 
of bread and wine in the sacred supper, were only 
symbols or emblems, by which people should be 
excited to commemorate the death of Christ, and 
the blessings resulting to us therefrom. Zwingle 
declared the ordinance to be not a sacrifice, but a 
commemoration of the sacrifice once offered on the 
cross, and a seal of the redemption by Christ. 
This controversy was carried on for a considera- 
ble time, with great warmth on both sides, and 
many fruitless efforts were made to reconcile and 
unite both parties. Luther never would consent 
to yield the point, or even to acknowledge his op- 
ponents as brethren. It was this dispute, on a 
point in itself so trivial, that divided the protest- 
ants into the two great bodies of Lutherans and 
Reformed. 

VIII. Another thing calculated to prejudice the 
cause of the Reformation, was, what was called, the 
20* 



234 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

war of the peasants. There arose, in the year 
1525, like a sudden tornado, an innumerable mul- 
titude of seditious and delirious fanatics, in various 
parts of Germany, who declared war against the 
laws and the magistrates, and spread rapine, con- 
flagration, and slaughter through the community. 
This sedition was at first of a civil nature. But 
after the fanatic, Thomas Munzer, who had before 
deceived others by his fictitious visions and dreams, 
and others of like character had joined them, it 
became, especially in Saxony and Thuringia, a 
religious or holy war. This wild rabble had in- 
deed very different ends in view. Some desired 
freedom from the restraints of law ; others wished 
relief from their taxes and burdens ; others contem- 
plated the formation of a new and perfectly pure 
church, and pretended to be inspired ; others again 
were hurried on by their passions, without any 
definite object in view. While it is admitted that 
many of them, by mistaking Luther's doctrine of 
Christian liberty and rejection of papal authority, 
may have been induced to run into this wild and 
lawless course, yet it is altogether unfair to ascribe 
these outrages to the Reformation, or to the doc- 
trines taught by Luther. He sufficiently refuted 
this calumny, by publishing books expressly 
against this turbulent faction. This storm subsid- 
ed after the battle of Mulhausen, in which the peas- 
ants were defeated. Munzer was taken prisoner, 
and subjected to capital punishment. According 
to some, one hundred and thirty thousand persons 
lost their lives in this war of the peasants. 

IX. In a diet of the German states assembled 
at Spire in 1526, it was decided that a petition 
should be presented to the emperor, to call a gen- 
eral council without delay ; and, in the mean time, 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 235 

that each one should be left to manage the reli- 
gious concerns of his own territory in his own 
way. In a diet at the same place, in 1529, this 
decree was revoked, and all changes in the public 
religion were declared to be unlawful, until the de- 
cision of a general council should take place. 
Against this proceeding, the elector of Saxony, the 
landgrave of Hesse, and the other patrons of the 
Reformation, entered their protest, and appealed to 
the emperor, and to a future council. Hence 
originated the name of Protestants, borne from this 
time onward by those who forsook the communion 
of the church of Rome. A confession of faith was 
drawn up by Melancthon, assisted by Luther, and 
laid before the emperor Charles V., in a diet as- 
sembled at Augsburg in 1530, and thence called 
the Augsburg Confession, to which the Lutheran 
church adheres to the present day. The principles 
of the Reformation soon spread into Sweden and 
Denmark, and were to be found more or less in 
most countries of Europe. There were very many 
in France who favoured the cause ; but there they 
suffered much persecution. The same happened 
in Spain, and also in England. 

X. The Anabaptists created not a little disturb- 
ance about this time. In 1533, a party of them 
settled at Munster under two leaders of the names 
of Matthias and Bockholdt. Having made them- 
selves* masters of the city, they deposed the magis- 
trates, confiscated the estates of such as had es- 
caped, and deposited their wealth in a public treas- 
ury for common use. They made preparation for 
the defence of the city ; invited the Anabaptists in 
the Low Countries to assemble at Munster, which 
they called Mount Sion, that from thence they 
might reduce all the nations of the earth under 



236 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

their dominion. Matthias was soon cut off by the 
bishop of Minister's army, and was succeeded by 
Bockholdt, who was proclaimed by a special de- 
signation of heaven, as the pretended king of Sion, 
and invested with legislative powers like those of 
Moses. The city of Munster, however, was taken 
after a long siege, and Bockholdt was punished 
with death. This seditious procedure of the Ana- 
baptists, induced most of the princes of Europe to 
enact severe laws against the whole sect ; in con- 
sequence of which, in subsequent years, vast num- 
bers of them, both the innocent and the guilty, 
were miserably put to death. 

XL The council of Trent, convoked by pope 
Paul III., commenced its sessions in 1545, and 
continued them, with numerous interruptions, un- 
til 1563. To the decisions of this council, which 
was wholly in the pope's interest, the Protestants 
refused to submit. A war against them was 
therefore agreed upon between the pope and the 
emperor Charles V. By this war, and the trea- 
chery of Maurice, duke of Saxony, who was se- 
duced by the promises of the emperor, the cause 
of the Protestants seemed almost ruined. After 
this followed what was called the Interim, a pa- 
per drawn up by order of the emperor, in order to 
settle difficulties for the present, until it could be 
done in a general council. This being somewhat 
on the principle of compromise, was very objec- 
tionable to both parties. Finally, a diet that as- 
sembled at Augsburg, in the year 1555, granted 
to the Protestants, after so much slaughter, and so 
many calamities and conflicts, that firm and sta- 
ble religious peace which they still enjoy. It was 
then decreed, that all those who had embraced 
the Augsburg Confession, should be free and ex- 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY, 237 

empt from all jurisdiction of the pontiff and the 
bishops ; that they should be governed by their 
own laws and regulations ; and that all Germans 
should be at liberty to follow whichever of the 
two religions they pleased : and lastly, they were 
declared public enemies of Germany, who should 
make war upon others, or molest them, on the 
ground of their religion. All other denominations 
of Christians, however, except Roman Catholics 
and Lutherans, were expressly excluded from the 
privileges of this compact. The Zwinglians, Cal- 
vinists, or Reformed, were therefore left in the 
same state as before. 

XII. While these events were occurring in 
Germany, the light, as has already been ob- 
served, began to be diffused through the other 
countries of Europe. In England, the followers 
of Wickliffe still existed ; and by them the 
writings of Luther were soon introduced, and 
read with avidity. Henry VIII., king of Eng- 
land, was a bigoted catholic, and in 1522, wrote 
a book in confutation of Luther's doctrines, for 
which he obtained from the pope the title of De- 
fender of the Faith — a title still retained by the 
kings of England. Yet Henry did much to pro- 
mote the Reformation, by quarrelling, and finally 
breaking with the pope, renouncing his authority, 
and having himself declared the supreme head of 
the English church ; although his motives and de- 
signs were far otherwise, In 1526, William 
Tindal published his English translation of the 
New Testament, which was printed at Antwerp, 
in Flanders. These books, finding a very ready 
sale in England, Tonstall, bishop of London, in 
order to prevent their circulation, sent over and 
purchased up all that remained of the edition, and 



238 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

committed them to the flames. By this means, 
Tindal was enabled to go on, and publish a new 
and improved edition. When one, who had been 
taken up on the suspicion of heresy, was asked 
by the chancellor, Sir Thomas More, how Tindal 
subsisted abroad, and who they were in London 
that abetted and supported him, he replied that 
the bishop of London maintained him by sending 
money to buy up the impression of his Testa- 
ment. The chancellor smiled, admitted the truth 
of the declaration, and suffered the accused per- 
son to escape. The importation of the books was 
prohibited ; and those suspected of being guilty in 
this matter were adjudged, by Sir Thomas More, 
to ride with their faces to the tails of their horses, 
with papers on their heads, and the New Testa- 
ments, and other books which they had dispersed, 
hung about their cloaks, and at the standard in 
Cheapside, to throw them into a fire prepared 
for that purpose, and to be fined at the king's 
pleasure. 

Henry VIII. died in the year 1547, and was 
succeeded by his son Edward VI., a child in years, 
but mature in wisdom, intelligence, and virtue. 
King Edward vigorously promoted the Reforma- 
tion during his short reign. In this he was as- 
sisted by the duke of Somerset, the archbishops 
Cranmer and Holgate, Sir W. Paget, secretary 
of state, and the bishops Holbeach, Goodrich, 
Latimer, and Ridley ; and also by Martin Bucer, 
Paul Fagius, Peter Martyr, and others, whom he 
had invited from abroad. The leaders in opposi- 
tion to reform were the princess Mary, earl 
Wriothesley, and bishops Tonstall, Gardiner, and 
Bonner. These last were imprisoned for refusing 
to obey the royal injunctions regulating religious 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 239 

worship. But unfortunately for the reformation 
in England, king Edward died in 1553, and was 
succeeded by the princess Mary, a most bigoted 
and cruel catholic ; and who, on account of her 
persecutions, is often called the bloody Mary. 
Queen Mary disguised her intentions, until she 
was fully established on the throne ; and then 
proceeded to release from prison, and restore to 
their sees, the popish bishops, Bonner, Gardiner, 
Tonstall, &c, and to imprison the reformers, 
Cranmer, Hooper, Coverdale, Rogers, Holgate, 
and others. Eight hundred friends to the Reforma- 
tion fled to the continent, and settled chiefly along 
the Rhine. Among these were five bishops, five 
deans, four archdeacons, and above fifty doctors 
in divinity, besides noblemen and merchants. Six 
bishops were turned out, the mass set up, and the 
popish rites every where restored. All the mar- 
ried and recusant clergy, to the number of some 
thousands, were deprived. The parliament pro- 
ceeded, in 1555, to repeal all laws in favour of 
reformation, passed since the time Henry VIII. 
first began his contest with the pope ; and to re- 
vive the old laws against heretics. The fires of 
persecution were now kindled. John Rogers was 
the first martyr ; and bishops Ridley, Latimer, 
and. Cranmer, were among the victims. Bishop 
Bonner was the chief agent in their execution. 
The whole number put to death, during the re- 
mainder of this reign, was about 288. Many, 
besides, died in prison, and great numbers fled 
the country. Popery was now completely trium- 
phant ; and the Reformation seemed entirely sup- 
pressed. 

Queen Mary died, November 7th, 1558 ; and 
with her, the cause of popery in England. She 



240 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

was succeeded by her sister Elizabeth, who pos- 
sessed a vigorous and resolute mind, and was 
friendly to the Reformation. The persecuting laws 
of queen Mary were repealed, the sovereign was 
invested with power to regulate the doctrines, dis- 
cipline, and worship of the church, and to appoint 
all bishops ; and that form of religion and worship 
was established which still prevails in England. 

XIII. " Into the neighbouring kingdom of Scot- 
land, the elements of a pure religion were early 
introduced by certain young noblemen who had 
resided in Germany. But the papal power, sup- 
ported by inhuman laws and penalties, for many 
years prevented it from taking firm root. The 
principal author of the entire abolition of the Ro- 
mish dominion over Scotland, was John Knox, a 
disciple of Calvin, ,a man of eloquence, and of a 
bold and fearless character. Proceeding from 
Geneva to Scotland, in the year 1557, he in a 
short time so roused up the people, by his dis- 
courses, that the majority of them abandoned the 
institutions of their fathers, and destroyed every 
vestige of the Romish religion. From that time 
onward, the Scots have pertinaciously held to that 
form of religion and discipline, which was estab- 
lished at Geneva under the auspices of John Cal- 
vin, Knox's preceptor ; nor could any considera- 
tions afterwards induce them to adopt the ecclesi- 
astical institutions and forms of worship of the 
English." 

XIV. In Ireland the Reformation never made 
great progress. The church of England, as by 
law established, was also made the established 
church of Ireland ; but the great bulk of the native 
Irish, have for ages been, and still are, bigoted 
Roman catholics. The protestants in Ireland are 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 241 

chiefly emigrants from England and Scotland. 
While bloody Mary was on the throne of England, 
she despatched Dr. Cole to Ireland with a commis- 
sion to persecute with fire and sword, such as then 
favoured the Reformation. He lodged on his way 
at the house of a protestant lady, when he took 
occasion to boast of the power he had from the 
queen to persecute the protestants of Ireland. The 
good lady found an opportunity before he left, to 
slip out the queen's commission, and put in its 
place a pack of cards. When the doctor got to 
Ireland, he found only the pack of cards, in place 
of the queen's commission : and before he could 
get it renewed, the queen died, which put an end 
to such measures. 

XV. The United Netherlands revolted entirely 
from the Roman pontiff, and in the year 1573, es- 
tablished the doctrines, the ecclesiastical organiza- 
tion, and the worship of the Swiss ; yet gave to all 
the citizens entire liberty of opinion on religious 
subjects, provided they attempted nothing against 
the peace and prosperity of the community. 

Even in Spain and Italy the reformed religion 
made great progress, soon after the first conflicts 
between Luther and the pontiffs. But the vigil- 
ance of the inquisitors found means to suppress it. 
Many were imprisoned, tortured, and slain ; and 
many fled into exile. 



21 



242 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE ROMISH CHURCH. 

1. The Jesuits.— 2. Francis Xavier.— 3. Profligacy of the popes 
— 4. Bull In Coena Domini. — 5. Points contested in the Ro- 
man church. — 6. Oriental churches. 

I. As the Roman pontiffs had lost so much ground 
in Europe, they became much more anxious than 
before, to propagate Christianity in other parts of 
the world, in order that they might still be able to 
maintain their power and dignity. And for this pur- 
pose the improvements in navigation by the Portu- 
guese, and the intercourse which they opened with 
Africa and southern Asia, as well as the discovery 
and subjugation of the New World by the Span- 
iards, afforded great facilities. In order that these 
opportunities might be duly improved, and every 
means employed to sustain the waning power and 
authority of the pope, the society of the Jesuits 
was instituted in the year 1540. Ignatius Loyola, 
a Spanish knight and ignorant fanatic, was the 
founder of this order ; but he was under the direc- 
tion of wise and acute men, who enabled him to 
found such a society as the state of the church 
then required. 

This society, devoted wholly to the interest of 
the popes, bound themselves by a solemn oath, 
that they would instantly go wherever the Roman 
pontiff should at any time bid them. The general 
of the order held his office for life, was to reside 
constantly at Rome, and had a select council to 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 243 

advise him, and to execute his orders. His au- 
thority over the whole order, and every person, 
business, and thing connected with it, was abso- 
lute ; nor was he accountable to any earthly supe- 
rior, except the pope. The whole society was like 
a regular army, completely officered, trained to ser- 
vice, and governed by the will of one man, who 
stood at the pope's right hand. Every individual 
is most solemnly bound to secresy ; and the mys- 
teries of the society are imparted only to a few of 
the professors, aged men, of long experience, and 
of the most tried characters : the rest are entirely 
ignorant of them. To this society, so well quali- 
fied for the business, it was given in special charge, 
constantly to train up suitable men, to be commis- 
sioned and sent by the pontiffs into the remotest 
regions as preachers of the religion of Jesus Christ. 
Great numbers of these missionaries went abroad 
into almost every part of the world, and laboured 
rather to promote the glory of the Roman pontiff, 
and the interest of their own sect, than the glory 
and interests of Jesus Christ. 

II. Among the most distinguished of these mis- 
sionaries, was Francis Xavier, commonly called 
the apostle of the Indies. In the year 1542, he 
proceeded to the Portuguese East Indies, and in a 
few years filled no small part, both of the conti- 
nent and islands, with a knowledge of the Christ- 
ian, or rather, the Romish religion. At Goa, 
where he resided a number of years, the Inquisi- 
tion was established, under the Portuguese govern- 
ment ; and it is said to have had greater influence 
in bringing the natives to embrace Christianity, 
than the exhortations and arguments of the Jesuits. 
Xavier travelled extensively in Hindostan, seve- 
ral times visited Ceylon, and the islands to the east 



244 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

of the bay of Bengal. In 1547, he went to Japan 
and spent two years and a half ; and laid the foun- 
dation of a very numerous body of Christians, that 
flourished for many years in that extensive empire. 
He returned again to Goa, and immediately made 
preparation for a mission to China. He had set out, 
and arrived within sight of that empire, when he 
was taken sick and died at the island of Sancian, 
in the year 1552. After his death, other mission- 
aries of the order of the Jesuits entered China ; 
among whom the most distinguished was Matthew 
Ricci, an Italian. He, by his skill in mathema- 
tics, and by other arts, which he knew well how 
to practise, conciliated the favour of some of the 
chief men, and even of the emperor himself; and 
obtained for himself and companions, the liberty 
to explain the doctrines of Christianity to the peo- 
ple. He therefore may justly be considered as the 
founder and chief author of that numerous body, 
in China, that were afterwards gathered into the 
Roman catholic church, some remains of which 
continue to the present day. 

III. Many of the popes of this century were 
very immoral in their lives and manifested a spirit 
very inconsistent with the title they assumed, of 
head of the church, and vicar of Jesus Christ. 
Leo X. was a man of letters, a facetious compan- 
ion, a poet and historian ; but was regarded as an 
infidel — doubted the immortality of the soul, and 
considered the Christian religion as a fable, but a 
profitable one. Paul III. was in his youth a great 
debauchee. He was an adept in the art of dissim- 
ulation. Julius III. bestowed a cardinal's hat on 
the keeper of his monkeys, a boy chosen from 
among the lowest of the populace. Paul IV. was 
an arrogant, ambitious, and violent pontiff; and was 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 245 

the first who instituted the Index librorum prohibit 
torum, or the Index of prohibited books, including 
the Bible in the vulgar tongue, which Roman 
catholics may not read without subjecting them- 
selves to the heavy censure of the church. Greg- 
ory XII. openly approved the bloody massacre at 
Paris on St. Bartholomew's eve, and participated 
in a treasonable plot against queen Elizabeth. 
Pius V. and Sixtus V. distinguished themselves 
above the rest ; the former by his extreme severity 
against heretics, and by publishing the celebrated 
Bull, called In Ccena Domini, which is annually 
read at Rome, on the festival of the Holy Sacra- 
ment; and the latter by his many vigorous, 
splendid and resolute acts for advancing the glory 
and honour of the church. 

IV. The Bull In Ccena Domini, is a rare pro- 
duction, consisting of thirty-one articles, in which 
all classes and characters of persons, who in any 
way, or by any means, oppose, hinder, or contra- 
vene, the power, honour, and authority of the 
Roman pontiffs, are excommunicated and anathe- 
matized. 

V. The Roman church boasts of its unity, its 
internal peace and harmony. But this is a false 
pretence. The Franciscans and Dominicans con- 
tend vehemently respecting various subjects. The 
Scotists and Thomists wage eternal war. The 
Jesuits have ever laboured to depress all the other 
religious fraternities, and to strip them of their 
wealth. This has excited the most virulent en- 
mity against them, particularly among the Bene- 
dictines and Dominicans. But besides, there are 
a number of points that have been violently con- 
tested by different parties, and never yet decided. 
The Jesuits have been the most staunch, as well 

21 * 



246 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

as the most subtle and impudent defenders of the 
church, the power, authority, and prerogatives of 
the Roman pontiff; and of these Robert Bellar- 
mine is the principal, who was a Jesuit, and a 
cardinal. His works, embracing all the contro- 
versies of his church, fill several large volumes. 
This distinguished advocate of the Romish church 
at his death, it is said, bequeathed one half of his 
soul to the Virgin Mary, the other half to Jesus 
Christ. 

VI. The oriental church in the sixteenth cen- 
tury, consisted, (as at the present time,) of the 
Greek church, and various independent sects, that 
practise different forms, and hold no communion 
with one another. The patriarch of Constantino- 
ple is the chief, who has under him those of Alex- 
andria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. The right of 
electing the patriarch of Constantinople belongs to 
the twelve bishops nearest to that city ; but the 
right of approving the election, and of imparting 
to the prelate authority to use his powers, belongs 
to the Turkish emperor. This therefore is fre- 
quently procured by bribery. The Russians, the 
Georgians or Iberians, and the Colchians or Min- 
grelians, all embrace the doctrines and rites of the 
Greeks, but are independent, or not subject to the 
patriarch of Constantinople. The independent 
sects are, the Monophysites or Jacobites, and the 
Nestorians. The Monophysites of Africa are the 
Abyssinians, and the Copts ; the latter of whom 
are those Christians who inhabit Egypt, Nubia, 
and the adjacent regions. The Nestorians are 
divided among themselves. ■ A large number of 
them inhabit Mesopotamia and the mountainous 
parts of Persia. They are said to have preserved 
themselves from the superstitions and corruptions 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 247 

that have deformed the Greek and Latin churches, 
more than any Christians resident in the East. 
They hold to two persons as well as two natures 
in Christ. But it is thought that they differ from 
others chiefly in words. The Armenians also are 
an independent sect. The Druses, that inhabit 
the mountains of Libanus, and the Kurds, that 
inhabit Persia, seem to be a kind of semi-christian 
sects ; of which there are many other kinds in the 
east, that only observe some Christian ceremonies 
combined with heathen or Mohammedan rites. 
The Maronites, who reside principally on the 
mountains of Libanus and Antilibanus, are subject 
to the dominion of the Roman pontiff. 



CHAPTER IV. 

LUTHERAN CHURCH. 

1, Adiaphoristic and Synergistic controversies.— 2. Flacius.— 
3. Osiander. — 4. Consubstantiation.— 5. Huber. 

I. We shall now proceed to give some further 
account of the Lutheran church in this century. 
After the death of Luther, which happened in the 
year 1546, several disturbances and disputes took 
place among his followers. Philip Melancthon, 
who was naturally of a much milder, and more 
conciliatory disposition than Luther, and who was 
now at the head of the party, thought that many 
things of an indifferent nature, might be yielded 
for the sake of peace. In adopting the Interim 



248 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

of Charles V., therefore, he decided that in things 
indifferent (in rebus adiaphoris,) the will of the 
emperor might be obeyed. This was strongly 
opposed by others ; and hence arose the violent 
contest, called the Adiapkoristic controversy, 
which lasted many years. In this sad controversy 
there were two principal points at issue. First ; 
whether the things that Meiancthon deemed indif- 
ferent, (such as priests' garments, the surplice, 
customs indicative of worship paid to the host, as 
the tolling of bells at its elevation, the use of for- 
mulas of worship, whether prayers in public wor- 
ship should be read or sung, respecting the obser- 
vance of various times of worship, as vespers, 
matins, the canonical hours, and the days devoted 
to Mary and the Apostles, &c.) actually were so 
or not. Secondly, whether it is lawful, in things 
indifferent, and not essential to religion, to suc- 
cumb to the enemies of truth. Out of this grew 
two other controversies. One respected good 
works ; whether good works are necessary to sal- 
vation. This Meiancthon and his friends asserted, 
and others denied ; particularly Nicholas Amsdorf 
went so far in the heat of controversy as to main- 
tain, that good works were pernicious to salvation. 
The other was called the Synergistic controversy. 
"The Synergists were nearly the same as the 
Semi-Pelagians ; i. e. they were persons who 
supposed that God is not the sole author of our 
conversion to him, but that man co-operates with 
God in the renovation of his own mind. On this 
subject, Meiancthon differed, at least in words, 
from Luther ; and in the Leipsic conference, he 
did not hesitate to say, that God so draws and 
converts adults, that some agency of their wills 
accompanies his influences. The pupils and 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY, 249 

friends of Melancthon adopted his language. But 
the strenuous Lutherans conceived that this senti- 
ment corrupted and subverted Luther's doctrine 
of the servitude of the will, or of man's impotence 
to regenerate himself and to perform any good 
actions ; and they therefore violently assailed the 
persons whom they called Synergists. In this 
contest, the principal champions were Victorinus 
Strigel, who the most openly and ingeniously de- 
fended the Melancthonian doctrine, and Matthias 
Flacius, who defended the old opinion of Luther." 

II. Flacius was a turbulent man, whom nature 
had fitted to sow discord and promote contention : 
he therefore not only cherished all the old con- 
troversies with great zeal, but also stirred up 
new ones. In a formal disputation between him 
and Strigel, respecting the natural power of man 
to regenerate himself and do good, being asked 
whether original sin, or the vitiosity of the human 
soul, was to be classed among substances or acci- 
dents, he replied, that it should be reckoned among 
substances ; and to the end of life he maintained 
this erroneous sentiment, that original sin is the 
very substance of a man, with so much perti- 
nacity, that he would sooner part with all his 
honours and privileges, than renounce it. This 
was going too far for most of his own party, and 
introduced further contests, that greatly afflicted 
the Lutheran church, and brought great detriment 
to their cause among the papists. 

III. Another disturbance was produced by An- 
drew Osiander, a man distinguished for pride, and 
the love of singularity. He maintained, that 
Christ, considered in his human nature only, was 
under obligation to keep the law on his own ac- 
count ; and therefore could not, by his obedience, 



250 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

obtain justification and pardon for sinners : — that 
it is only through that eternal and essential right- 
eousness which dwells in Christ, considered as 
God, and which resides in his divine nature, 
united to the human, that mankind can obtain 
complete justification. That man becomes a par- 
taker of this divine righteousness by faith ; since, 
by this uniting principle, Christ dwells in the 
heart of man with his divine righteousness. But 
where this divine righteousness is, God can be- 
hold no sin; therefore, when it is present with 
Christ, in the hearts of believers, they are consi- 
dered as righteous, although they be sinners. 
Moreover, this divine and justifying righteousness 
of Christ excites the faithful to the pursuit and 
practice of personal holiness. On the contrary, 
Francis Stancarus, a turbulent and passionate 
man, in attempting to confute Osiander, falling, 
as is common, into the opposite error, excluded 
the divine nature of Christ from the work of 
redemption and atonement ; and maintained, that 
the office of mediator between God and men, 
pertained exclusively to the human nature of 
Christ. 

IV. In the year 1570, after the death of Me- 
lancthon, a very considerable disturbance was 
created by an attempt of Caspar Peucer, a son-in- 
law of Melancthon, and others, to abolish the doc- 
trine of Luther concerning the holy supper, or 
consubstantiation ; and to introduce the opinion 
of Calvin in its stead. Their attempt was frus- 
trated for the present. The same thing was again 
attempted by Nicholas Crell, and others, near the 
end of the century, but without success. Crell, 
who was prime minister of state of Saxony, and 
principal mover in the business, suffered capital 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 251 

punishment, and the theologians connected with 
him were punished with imprisonment and exile. 
V. About the close of the century, Samuel Hu- 
ber, who taught theology at Wittemberg, stirred 
up a new controversy. " Fired with hatred of 
the Calvinistic doctrine of absolute decrees, he 
maintained that the whole human race were from 
eternity elected of God to salvation ; and he ac- 
cused his colleagues, together with all the divines 
of the Lutheran church, of being Calvinists, be- 
cause they taught that those only are elected, 
who, God foresaw, would die in faith. Learned 
men are at this day agreed, that Huber swerved 
from the common Lutheran doctrine rather in 
words than in meaning ; for what the Lutherans 
maintain respecting the love of God, as embracing 
the whole human race, and excluding no one ab- 
solutely from eternal salvation, this he would ex- 
plain in a new manner, and in new phraseology. 
But this age having learned, from numerous ex- 
amples, that new phraseology, and new modes of 
explaining doctrines, produced as lasting and as 
pernicious disturbance as new errors, urged Hu- 
ber to adopt the old and the universal method of 
teaching, in preference to his own." Professing 
that he was not able to do this, he was compelled 
to relinquish his office, and go into exile. Thus 
was the Lutheran church agitated from time to 
time with violent contests, that created much trou- 
ble and difficulty among themselves, and gave 
great advantage to their enemies, 



252 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 



CHAPTER V. 



REFORMED CHURCH. 

1. Switzerland.— 2. Calvin.— 3. France.— 4. Scotland.— 5. Eng- 
land. — 6. Moravians and Waldenses. — 7. Doctrinal views 
of the Reformed — 8. Anabaptists, or Mennonites. — 9. Men- 
no Simonis— 10. Division of the Mennonites.— 11. So- 



I. We shall now proceed to give some account 
of what Mosheim calls the Reformed church. 
This embraces the churches of Switzerland, Eng- 
land, Scotland, and Holland. Ulrick Zwingle, a 
very acute and learned man, was the leader of 
the reformation in Switzerland, which he first 
introduced at Zurich, and extended to other can- 
tons. He was early assisted by John CEcolam- 
padius, a theologian of Bale, and one of the most 
learned men of that age. They differed from 
Luther in regard to the sacred supper, and in de- 
siring a more thorough reformation, and a simpler 
form of worship. The difference of opinion in 
regard to the supper, however, was the principal 
matter of dispute, and which always prevented a 
union, notwithstanding the many efforts that were 
made to effect it. This subject was much dis- 
cussed on both sides, and involved other ques- 
tions, that called forth no little disputation ; 
namely, respecting the person of Jesus Christ, 
the communication of the divine attributes to the 
human nature of Christ, and the ubiquity of 
Christ's body. 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 253 

II. But the man who stood prominent in the 
Reformed church, for learning, talents, and piety, 
and who did more than any other to model and 
extend it, was John Calvin. He was born at 
Noyon, in France, A. D. 1509, and connected the 
study of civil law with that of theology. He 
came to Geneva at the invitation of William 
Farel and Peter Viret, who were reformers there 
before him. But in 1538, he was expelled by 
the Council of Geneva, and resided several years 
at Strasburg, where he lived on terms of great in- 
timacy with Bucer and Capito, and with them 
strenuously defended the cause of the reformers 
of Germany. In the year 1541, at the repeated 
and pressing invitations of the Genevans, he re- 
turned to that place again, and there he continued 
his labours with great perseverance, zeal, pru- 
dence, and disinterestedness, until his death, in 
1564. He immediately set about establishing 
the church at Geneva, according to what he 
esteemed to be the Scriptural model. And so 
great was the fame which he quickly acquired, 
that many persons of rank and fortune were in- 
duced to emigrate from France, Italy, and other 
countries, and settle at Geneva ; and great num- 
bers more to travel to Geneva, merely to see and 
hear so great a man. In 1558, he persuaded the 
Senate of Geneva to establish an academy, in 
which he and his colleague, Theodore Beza, and 
other men of great erudition and high reputation, 
were the teachers. This new academy, in a short 
time, acquired so great fame, that students eagerly 
repaired to it in great numbers, from England, 
Scotland, France, Italy, and Germany. By means 
of his pupils, Calvin enlarged every where the 
Reformed Church, and recommended and propa- 
22 



254 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

gated his own sentiments to more than one nation 
of Europe. 

Zwingle assigned to civil magistrates full and 
absolute power in matters of religion ; but Calvin 
maintained that the church ought to be free and 
independent of the civil magistrate ; and to govern 
itself by means of bodies of presbyters, synods, 
and conventions of presbyters, in the manner of 
the ancient church. He introduced at Geneva, 
and recommended elsewhere, throughout the Re- 
formed church, that form of church government 
which is called Presbyterian. He did not allow 
of bishops, as a distinct grade of ministers ; but 
maintained that they ought to be on an entire 
parity, in point of ministerial office. Calvin dif- 
fered somewhat from both Luther and Zwingle, 
in regard to the Lord's Supper. Luther main- 
tained the corporeal presence of Christ; Zwingle, 
that the Lord's Supper was nothing but a memo- 
rial of Christ; Calvin took a kind of middle 
ground, and admitted a sort of spiritual presence, 
and that divine grace was conferred on, and seal- 
ed to the believer, by the sacred Supper. But 
though Calvin differed from Luther in regard to 
consubstantiation, yet these two great Reformers 
entirely agreed in their doctrinal belief. Luther 
carried the doctrine of the Divine decrees as far 
as Calvin ever did. But as the latter explained, 
defended, and promulgated more fully and more 
ably than the former, the doctrine of the Divine 
sovereignty in " the election of grace," that doc- 
trine is more closely and generally connected with 
the name of Calvin than with that of the Saxon 
Reformer, who, though he believed it as fully, had 
not rendered himself so conspicuous in its inves- 
tigation and defence. 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 255 

III. The Reformation made very great progress 
in France, although labouring under great disad- 
vantages, from internal wars, persecutions, massa- 
cres, and oppression. On the 22d of August, 1572, 
commenced the massacre of St. Bartholomew, so 
called, because it took place on the eve of that fes- 
tival. — The bloody scene began at midnight, at 
the signal of tolling the palace bell, and continu- 
ed three days at Paris. Five hundred noblemen, 
and about six thousand other Protestants were 
butchered in Paris alone. Orders were despatch- 
ed to all parts of the kingdom for a similar 
massacre every where. More than thirty thou- 
sand, some say seventy thousand, and some one 
hundred thousand, perished by the hands of the 
royal assassins. And when the news reached 
Rome, the pope ordered a jubilee to be celebrated 
throughout Christendom on the joyful occasion. 
The Protestants were weakened, but not destroy- 
ed. They continued to exist and increase under 
great troubles and difficulties, until, under Henry 
IV. A. D. 1598, they obtained equal rights and 
privileges, by a decree called the edict of Nantes. 
The number of Protestants in France during the 
latter half of this century, was supposed to be from 
a million, to a million and a half. They were in 
close fellowship with the church of Geneva, and 
with the Flemish Protestants. Their confession 
of faith was composed by Calvin. — Their doctrines 
were strictly Calvinistic ; their worship very sim- 
ple, and almost without written forms ; and their 
system of government entirely presbyterian. 

IV. In Scotland, the Reformation triumphed by 
the instrumentality of John Knox, a disciple of 
Calvin. He was of a most undaunted spirit, and 
a powerful preacher. Having imbibed his theolo- 



256 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

gical views at Geneva, he established the church 
of Scotland after the same model, both in doctrine 
and government : and this model it has strictly 
retained to the present day. 

V. In England, the thing was otherwise. The 
Reformation commenced in England under Henry 
VIII. who, although a bigoted catholic, quarrelled 
with the pope, and declared himself the head of 
the English church. His son and successor, Ed- 
ward VI. was a friend of the Reformation, and un- 
der him the church underwent a partial reform, 
such as the times would bear. This was all re- 
versed under bloody Mary. Many were put to 
death and many fled into exile. Of these exiles 
some settled at Geneva, and adopted their forms 
of worship. When they had liberty to return, un- 
der queen Elizabeth, they brought with them all 
their prejudices in favour of that kind of church 
government and worship which they had witness- 
ed on the continent. They could not conform to 
the liturgy established by queen Elizabeth, which 
was nearly the same with that held by the church 
of England at the present day. They were there- 
fore called Non-conformists, and also Puritans, be- 
cause they desired a pure and simple form of wor- 
ship. They found fault with priestly garments, 
kneeling at the sacrament, the cross in baptism, 
confirmation, god-fathers and god-mothers, and 
similar things, as shreds and remnants of popery, 
and as inconsistent with that simplicity of form of 
worship taught in the Scriptures. The govern- 
ment of the church by bishops, archbishops, &c. 
they thought not authorized by apostolical prac- 
tice and precept. But this became a much great- 
er matter of grievance, from the year 1588, when 
Richard Bancroft, afterwards archbishop of Can- 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 257 

terbury, first ventured publicly to affirm that bish- 
ops are an order superior to that of presbyters, not 
by mere human appointment, but by the will of God 
— -jure divino. This sentiment meeting the ap- 
probation of great numbers, the consequence was, 
that they were not thought to be properly induct- 
ed into the sacred office, who had not been ordain- 
ed by a bishop, and therefore, had no right to 
preach and administer the ordinances ; and that 
those churches that had not episcopal ordination 
among them, were not true churches. This schism 
in the English church between the Conformists and 
Non-conformists or Puritans, and which contin- 
ues down to the present day, was the cause of 
much evil and disturbance in that nation. The 
Puritans were very numerous, and suffered much 
persecution under the Act of Uniformity, publish- 
ed by queen Elizabeth. They, however, disa- 
greed among themselves. The most of them were 
Presbyterians ; some were Independents, and 
some Baptists. The Independents, whose histo- 
ry belongs chiefly to the next century, were the 
descendants of the followers of Robert Brown, 
who in this century were called Brownists. 

VI. In the provinces of the Netherlands, the 
Protestants assumed the name of Reformed ; and 
modelled their church after the Genevan pat- 
tern. — The Bohemian Brethren, or Moravians 
of Poland, who were the descendants of the 
better sort of Hussites, held frequent corres- 
pondence with Luther, soliciting friendship and 
alliance. Nor did Luther and his friends find 
anything very censurable, either in their doctrine 
or their discipline. But they afterwards inclined to 
the Swiss, and retaining their own form of church 
government, embraced the doctrine of the Reform- 
22 * 



258 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

ed. The descendants of the Waldenses, who lived 
shut up in the valleys of Piedmont, were led by 
their proximity to the French and Genevans, to 
embrace their doctrines and worship. Yet they 
retained not a few of their ancient rules of disci- 
pline, so late as the year 1630. But in this year, 
the greater part of the Waldenses were swept off 
by pestilence ; and their new teachers, whom they 
obtained from France, regulated all their affairs 
according to the pattern of the French Reformed 
church. 

VII. " The Reformed," says Dr. Mosheim, " if 
we restrict this appellation to those who approve 
the sentiments of Calvin, differ from the Luther- 
ans, in regard to three subjects. — 1. The doctrine 
of the holy supper, in which the Lutherans say, 
the body and blood of Christ are truly, though in 
an inexplicable manner, presented to both the pi- 
ous and ungodly ; while the Reformed suppose, 
that the human nature of Christ is present only 
by the symbols of it. Yet they do not all explain 
their doctrine in the same way. 2. The doctrine 
of the eternal decrees of God, in regard to the sal- 
vation of men, the ground of which the Luther, 
ans suppose to be the faith or unbelief of men 
in Christ, foreseen by God, from eternity ; but the 
Reformed suppose it to be the free and sovereign 
good pleasure of God. 3. Certain rites and insti- 
tutions, which the Reformed think have a tend- 
ency to superstition ; but which the Lutherans 
think, are partly sufferable and partly useful to 
Christians. Such are images in churches, sacred 
garments for the clergy, the private confession of 
sins, the use of small circular pieces of bread, 
[wafers,] such as were anciently distributed in the 
holy supper, the formula of exorcism, as it is call- 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 259 

ed, in the sacrament of baptism ; and some others. 
These the Reformed would have to be abrogated ; 
because they think religious worship should be 
restored to its primitive simplicity, and the ad- 
ditions to it should be wholly struck off." 

That all the protestant divines of the Reformed 
Church, or with very few exceptions, both in 
England and upon the continent, were, in the be- 
ginning, of one mind, about the doctrines of grace 
and of faith, cannot be denied. And hence the 
Articles of the Church of England, are truly Cal- 
vinistic. But toward the end of queen Elizabeth's 
reign, there arose a party which were first for 
softening, and then for overthrowing, the received 
opinions concerning predestination, perseverance, 
free-will, effectual grace, and the extent of Christ's 
atonement. The clergy of the Episcopal Church 
began to lean towards the notions concerning 
these intricate points, which Arminius propagated 
some time after this ; while, on the other hand, 
the Puritans adhered rigorously to the system of 
Calvin. Several Episcopal doctors remained at- 
tached to the same system, and all these abettors 
of Calvinism, whether Episcopal or Presbyterian, 
were called doctrinal puritans. 

VIII. I now proceed to give some account of 
the Anabaptists or Mennonites. This sect, al- 
though diversified among themselves, includes all 
who deny the right of infants to baptism. They 
were called Anabaptists, because they baptized 
over again those who had been baptized in infancy • 
and Mennonites, from Menno, who was their prin- 
cipal leader, and who reduced the party to some- 
thing like regular form. The origin of this sect 
is involved in much obscurity. " The modern 
Mennonites," says Dr. Mosheim, "affirm, that 



260 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

their predecessors were the descendants of those 
Waldenses, who were oppressed by the tyranny 
of the papists ; and that they were a most pure 
offspring, and most averse from any inclination 
towards sedition, as well as from all fanatical 
views. On the contrary, their adversaries con- 
tend, that they are descended from those turbulent 
and furious Anabaptists, who in the sixteenth cen- 
tury involved Germany, Holland, Switzerland, 
and especially Westphalia, in so many calamities 
and civil wars, but that being terrified by the 
dreadful fate of their associates, through the influ- 
ence of Menno Simonis especially, they have 
gradually assumed a more sober character. After 
duly examining the whole subject, with impartial- 
ity, I conceive that neither statement is altogether 
true. In the first place, I believe the Mennonites 
are not altogether in the wrong, when they boast 
of a descent from those Waldenses, Petrobrussians, 
and others, who are usually styled the witnesses 
for the truth before Luther. Prior to the age of 
Luther, there lay concealed in almost every 
country of Europe, but especially in Bohemia, 
Moravia, Switzerland, and Germany, very many 
persons, in whose minds was deeply rooted that 
principle, which the Waldensians, the Wickliffites, 
and the Hussites maintained, some more covertly 
and others more openly ; namely, that the king- 
dom which Christ set up on earth, or the visible 
church, is an assembly of holy persons ; and 
ought therefore to be entirely free, not only from 
ungodly persons and sinners, but from all institu- 
tions of human device against ungodliness. This 
principle lay at the foundation, and was the source 
of all that was new and singular in the religion of 
the Mennonites; and the greatest part of their 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 261 

singular opinions, as is well attested, were ap- 
proved some centuries before Luther's time, by 
those who had such views of the nature of the 
church of Christ." 

To this account of the Mennonites, I must add 
Dr. Murdoch's note. 

" That the Mennonites, as being one of those 
Protestant sects which renounced the Romish reli- 
gion in the sixteenth century, resembled very much 
the Waldenses, the Wickliffites, and the Hussites, 
those early revolters from the Romish worship, is 
true. And it may therefore be justly said, that 
'the greatest part of their singular opinions,' 
meaning those in which they differed from the 
Romish church, ' were approved some centuries 
before Luther's time.' And this, I think, must 
be all that Dr. Mosheim intended to say. For, 
that in most of the points in which they appeared 
singular to the Protestants, they bore a nearer 
resemblance to the proper Waldenses, the Wick- 
liffites, and the Hussites, than the other protes- 
tants, or than the Lutherans and the Reformed 
did, is very far from being true. On the contrary, 
it is a well known historical fact, that in the six- 
teenth century the genuine descendants of the old 
Waldensians, Wickliffites, and Hussites, who 
were numerous in France, England, Bohemia, 
Moravia, &c, readily united with the Lutheran 
and Reformed communities, and at length became 
absorbed in them ; and that very few, if any of 
them ever manifested a preference for the Men- 
nonites, or for any of the Antipsedobaptist sects 
of that age. The history of the Reformation, in 
all the countries where the ancient sects were 
found, fully establishes this fact, which is so 
adverse to the supposition of a legitimate descent 



262 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

of the Mennonites from the pure Waldenses. 
The first Mennonites were not persons who had 
before borne the name of Waldensians ; nor did 
they originate either in or near the countries 
where the Waldensians in that age resided. And 
if we endeavour to trace the history of that grand 
peculiarity of all Mennonites, their confining 
baptism to adult believers, and rejecting infant 
baptism altogether, we shall find that at the time 
Menno first embraced it, it existed among the 
numerous German Anabaptists, but not among 
the Waldenses of France or Bohemia, who were 
then universally believers in infant baptism, and 
were in fraternal union with the Lutheran and 
Reformed churches. These Waldensian Psedo- 
baptists, moreover, declared that they held the 
same belief which their fathers had maintained for 
several centuries ; and they appealed to their old 
books to make good their assertions. See Jo. 
Paul Perrin's History of the Waldenses ; P. i. B. 
i. ch. iv. p. 15. of the English translation ; and 
P. iii. B. iii. ch. iv. p. 99. Nor does ecclesiastical 
history appear to me to disprove the truth of this 
assertion. There were indeed, various mystical 
sects, tinctured more or less with Manic hsean 
views, in the twelfth and following centuries, who 
rejected all water-baptism, on much the same 
grounds as the Quakers still do ; and some of 
these assailed infant baptism especially, as being 
peculiarly unsuitable and absurd. There is also 
pretty good evidence, that early in the twelfth 
century, Peter Bruis and his successor Henry, 
with their followers, the Petrobrussians and Hen- 
ricians, did at first reject infant baptism, without 
discarding all baptism. But soon after, Peter 
Waldo arose, and gave birth to the proper Wal- 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 263 

densians ; and we hear no more of the Petrobrus- 
sians and Henricians. They probably gave up 
their opposition to infant baptism. See Wall's 
Hist, of Infant Baptism, P. II. ch. 7."* 

Before Menno, by his great and laborious efforts, 
had brought the Anabaptists to some degree of or- 
der and regularity, they were guilty of very great 
disturbances and outrages in many parts. At 
Munster, a city of Westphalia, they assembled in 
1533, under the guidance of illiterate men, John 
Matthsei, John Bockholdt, a tailor of Leyden, 
Gerhard, and some others, where they committed 
deeds that would scarcely be credible, were they 
not so well attested. They persuaded the people 
that their blessed heavenly Jerusalem was about 
to be established at Munster, and would thence 
be extended to other places. John Bockholdt was 
created king and lawgiver to this celestial republic. 

" The scenes of violence, tumult, and sedition," 
says Dr. Maclaine, " that were exhibited in Hol- 
land by this odious tribe were also terrible. They 
formed the design of reducing the city of Leyden 
to ashes, but were happily prevented and severely 
punished. John of Leyden, the Anabaptist king 
of Munster, had taken it into his head, that God 
had made him a present of the cities of Amster- 
dam, Deventer, and Wesel ; in consequence there- 
of, he sent bishops to those places, to preach his 
gospel of sedition and carnage. About the begin- 
ning of the year 1535, twelve anabaptists, of whom 
five were women, assembled at midnight in a pri- 
vate house at Amsterdam. One of them, who was 
a tailor by profession, fell into a trance, and after 
having preached and prayed for the space of four 

* See Appendix, 



264 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

hours, stripped himself, threw his clothes into the 
fire, and commanded all the assembly to do the 
same, in which he was obeyed without the least 
reluctance. He then ordered them to follow him 
through the streets, which they accordingly did, 
howling and bawling out, Wo ! wo ! the wrath of 
God ! wo to Babylon ! When, after being seized 
and brought before the magistrates, clothes were 
offered them, they refused them obstinately, and 
cried aloud, We are the naked truth. When they 
were brought to the scaffold, they sung and danced, 
and discovered all the marks of enthusiastic phren- 
sy. — These tumults were followed by a regular 
and deep laid conspiracy, formed by Van Geelen 
(an envoy of the mock king of Munster, who had 
made a very considerable number of proselytes) 
against the magistrates of Amsterdam, with a de- 
sign to wrest the government of that city out 
of their hands. This incendiary marched his 
fanatical troop to the town-house on the day ap- 
pointed, drums beating, colours flying, and fixed 
there his head quarters. He was attacked by the 
burghers, assisted by some regular troops, and 
headed by several of the burgomasters of the city. 
After an obstinate resistance, he was surrounded, 
with his whole troop, who were put to death in the 
severest and most dreadful manner, to serve as an 
example to the other branches of the sect, who 
were exciting commotions of a like nature in Fries- 
land, Groningen, and other provinces and cities of 
the Netherlands." 

But it would seem that Menno, and many oth- 
ers of the sect, were of a different character from 
these wild fanatics, and wholly disapproved of their 
violent and lawless proceedings. 

IX. Menno Simonis, of Friesland, who had been 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 265 

a popish priest, in the year 1536, openly espoused 
the cause of the Anabaptists, and in the following 
year, by special request, consented to assume the 
functions of their religious teacher. From this 
period to the end of his life, or for about twenty- 
five years, he travelled with his wife and children, 
amidst perpetual sufferings, and daily perils of his 
life, over very many regions of country ; first in 
West Friesland, the territory of Groningen, and 
East Friesland, then in Guelderland, Holland, 
Brabant, Westphalia, and the German shores along 
the Baltic, as far as Livonia ; and gathered an im- 
mense number of followers, so that he was almost 
the common father and bishop of all the Anabap- 
tists, and may justly be considered the founder of 
the flourishing sect that has continued down to our 
times. Menno condemned the expectation of a 
new kingdom of Jesus Christ, to be set up by vio- 
lence : he condemned the hope of a perfect church 
to be established by an extraordinary effusion of 
the Holy Spirit ; he condemned the licentiousness 
of polygamy and divorce, which some of the Ana- 
baptists held ; and would not tolerate those who 
believed that the Holy Ghost descended into the 
minds of many, as at the first propagation of the 
Gospel, and manifested his presence by miracles, 
prophecies, divine dreams and visions. At the 
same time he retained the doctrines commonly re- 
ceived among the Anabaptists, in relation to the 
baptism of infants ; the millennium or one thou- 
sand years' reign of Christ upon earth ; the ex- 
clusion of magistrates from the Christian church ; 
the abolition of war ; the prohibition of oaths by 
our Saviour ; and the vanity, as well as the per- 
niciousness, of human science. These doctrines, 
however, he so explained and modified as made 
23 



266 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

them not unlike the doctrines commonly held by 
Protestants, and removed all their dangerous and 
offensive features. 

X. The Mennonites afterwards divided into two 
parties, one called Flemings or Flandrians, and 
the other VVaterlandians. The former held and 
observed more strictly than the others, both the an- 
cient doctrines, and the morals and discipline of 
the Anabaptists : the latter were more lax, departed 
from the original opinions and discipline, and ap- 
proached nearer to other Protestant churches. 
Some of this denomination administer baptism at 
the present day by pouring or sprinkling, and 
plead for it the authority of Menno himself. 

" Those among the English," says Dr. Mosheim, 
u who reject the baptism of infants, are not called 
Anabaptists, but Baptists. It is probable that these 
Baptists originated from the Germans and the 
Dutch ; and that they all once held the same sen- 
timents with the Mennonites. But they are now 
divided into two general classes ; the one called 
General Baptists, or Remonstrants, because they 
believe that God has excluded no man from salva- 
tion by any sovereign decree ; # the other are call- 
ed Particular, or Calvinistic Baptists, because they 

* Dr. Mosheim, like the most of those who dislike what ia 
called Calvinism, shows here a facility in misrepresenting it. The 
Baptist Remonstrants, he says, " believe that God has excluded 
no man from salvation by any sovereign decree," leaving it to 
be inferred, that the " Calvinistic Baptists,'' and the " Calvinists " 
generally, hold the precisely opposite view. It is needless to say 
now false the implication is, or to spend time in showing the ob- 
vious difference between believing that God has excluded some 
men from salvation by a sovereign decree, and believing that he 
has " been pleased according to the unsearchable counsel of 
his own will ... to pass bu " a part of our rebellious race, 
•* and to ordain them to dishonour and wrath for their sin, to 
the praise of his glorious justice." Con. of Faith, ch. hi. $ 7. 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY, 267 

agree very nearly with the Calvinists, or Presby- 
terians, in their religious sentiments. 

The Particular Baptists are by far the most 
numerous, and have receded so far from the opin- 
ions of their progenitors, that they have almost 
nothing in common with the ancient Anabaptists, 
except that they baptize none but adults, and ad- 
minister the ordinance by total immersion. Their 
churches are organized on the congregational or 
independent plan, and they allow professors of 
religion to take an oath, bear arms, and fill public 
civil offices when required. The General Baptists 
consist chiefly of illiterate persons of low condi- 
tion ; for, like the ancient Mennonites, they de- 
spise learning. Their religious creed is very gen- 
eral and indefinite, so that they tolerate persons 
of all sorts, even Arians and Socinians, and do 
not reject any one, provided he profess to be a 
Christian, and to receive the Holy Scriptures as 
the rule of his faith and practice in religion. 

XI. A brief notice of the sect of the Socinians 
will conclude what I have to say on the sixteenth 
century. This sect derives its name from Lselius 
and Faustus Socinus. Lselius was the older, but 
being a man of a mild and gentle spirit, he did 
not divulge his religious sentiments, except in let- 
ters to his friends. He died at Zurich in 1562, 
not yet forty years old, professing himself a mem- 
ber of the Swiss church, having adopted the Hel- 
vetic Confession. But his nephew and heir, Faus 
tus Socinus, a man of less learning, but more 
boldness and resolution, is said to have drawn 
from his writings his real sentiments on religion, 
and by publishing them, to have gathered the sect. 
In the early part of the Reformation, before So- 
cinus, there were a number of persons who denied 



268 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

divine honours to Jesus Christ. Such was Lewis 
Hetzer, a name famous among the vagrant Ana- 
baptists, and who was beheaded at Constance in 
1529. And it is said that there were many of 
that sect of like sentiments. John Campanus, at 
Wittemberg and elsewhere, propagated the doc- 
trine, that the Son of God is inferior to the Father, 
and revived the ancient Arian heresy. He was 
committed to prison by the Catholics at Cleves, 
and kept in confinement twenty-six years. One 
Claudius also excited great commotion, about the 
year 1530. He positively denied three persons 
in the Godhead, and maintained that the beginning 
of John's Gospel had been falsified. He was im- 
prisoned at Strasburg, and then banished. But 
no one gave more trouble and alarm on this head, 
than Michael Servetus, a man of no ordinary 
genius, and of extensive knowledge. He publish- 
ed several books on the Trinity, in which he vio- 
lently assailed the doctrine held by the great body 
of Christians on that subject. After having tra- 
velled much, and passed through various scenes, 
he fixed his residence at Vienne, a town in France, 
where, in 1553, he secretly published his great 
work, entitled Restitutio Christianismi, (a Res- 
toration of Christianity.) Many things seemed to 
favour his designs ; genius, learning, eloquence, 
courage, pertinacity, a show of piet}% and lastly, 
numerous friends and patrons, in France, Ger- 
many, and Italy, whom he had conciliated by his 
natural and acquired endowments. He was brought 
before the Inquisition at Vienne, but made his 
escape ; and in passing through Switzerland, lay 
sometime concealed at Geneva. When about to 
depart, he was discovered by Calvin himself, who 
gave notice immediately to the government. They 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 269 

apprehended him, and after a regular trial and 
conviction of heresy, according to the laws then 
in force, and the spirit and practice of that age, he 
was condemned to be burnt alive. Calvin, and 
other ministers of Geneva, interceded for a milder 
death ; but the court would not yield. " A better 
fate," says Mosheim, " was merited by this man 
of uncommon genius and great learning ; yet he 
laboured under no small moral defects, for he was 
beyond all measure arrogant, and also ill-tempered, 
contentious, unyielding, and a semi-fanatic." 

As the favourers of these views were so vigi- 
lantly watched both by papists and protestants, 
many of them retired to Poland, where they could 
enjoy greater liberty of opinion, as did also many 
of the Anabaptists for the same reason. " Here 
they at first cautiously disclosed their views, being 
timid and doubtful what would be the issue. 
Hence, for a number of years, they lived inter- 
mixed with the Lutherans and Calvinists, who 
had acquired a firm establishment in Poland ; nor 
were they excluded from their communion in wor- 
ship, or from their deliberative bodies. But after 
acquiring the friendship of the nobles and the opu- 
lent, they ventured to act more courageously, and 
to attack openly the common views of Christians. 
Hence originated, first, violent contests with the 
Reformed, with whom they were principally con- 
nected, the issue of which at last was, that in the 
Synod of Petrikow, A. D. 1565, they were re- 
quired to secede, and to form themselves into a 
separate community." These founders of the So- 
cinian sect, however, mostly professed Arian sen- 
timents respecting the Divine nature ; representing 
the Son and the Holy Ghost to be persons begot- 
ten by the one God, the Father, and inferior to 
23* 



270 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

him. But they were much divided in opinion 
among themselves, and much harassed from with- 
out, until John Sieniensky, the waiwode of Podo- 
lia, granted them a residence in his new town of 
Racow, built for them in 1569. The name of So- 
cinians was not yet known. Those who after- 
wards bore that name, were then usually called by 
the Poles, Anabaptists; because they admitted 
none to baptism in their assemblies but adults, and 
were accustomed to rebaptize such as came over 
to them from other communities. It was at this 
time that Faustus Socinus came among them, and 
gained such ascendency, that he brought the whole 
Unitarian people to surrender to those opinions of 
his, which they had not before received, and to 
coalesce, and become one people. Under the 
guidance of so respectable a leader, they soon rose 
to distinction and honour, by the accession of 
great numbers of all orders, among whom were 
many persons of noble birth, of opulence, learn- 
ing, and influence. The Unitarian religion being 
thus new modelled, and made almost a new sys- 
tem, required a new Confession. This was drawn 
up by Socinus himself, and called the Racovian 
Catechism. They established a flourishing school 
at Racow, and published many books. Their 
authors were learned and able men, and were 
termed Poloni Fratres, or Polish Brethren. 

Although the Socinians profess to believe that 
all knowledge of divine things must be derived 
from the Bible, yet they hold that the sense of 
Scripture is to be interpreted in conformity with 
the dictates of right reason. It is a fundamental 
maxim of the wiiole Socinian Theology, that no- 
thing must be admitted as a divine doctrine, but 
what the human mind can fully understand and 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 271 

comprehend ; and whatever the Holy Scriptures 
teach concerning the nature of God, his counsels 
and purposes, and the way of salvation, must be 
filed down and polished, by art and reason, till it 
shall agree with the capacities of our minds. 
They intimate, and sometimes plainly express, 
that the inspired writers frequently slipped, both 
through defects of memory, and of capacity; that 
they express their ideas obscurely ; that they 
use extravagant and hyperbolical expressions ; 
and therefore must be made intelligible by the aid 
of reason and sagacity. The system of Socinus, 
Dr. Mosheim sums up in the following words : — 
" God is indeed vastly more perfect than men are, 
yet he is not altogether unlike them : by that 
power with which he controls all nature, he 
caused Jesus Christ, an extraordinary man, to 
be born of the Virgin Mary : this man he caught 
up to heaven, imbued him with a portion of his 
own energy, which is called the Holy Spirit, and 
with a full knowledge of his will ; and then sent 
him back to this world, that he might promulgate 
to mankind a new rule of life, more perfect than 
the old one, and might evince the truth of his 
doctrine by his life and his death. Those who 
obey the voice of this divine teacher, (and all can 
obey it, if they are so disposed,) being clad in 
other bodies, shall hereafter inhabit the blessed 
abode where God resides : those who do other- 
wise being consumed by exquisite torments, shall 
at length sink into entire annihilation." - 



272 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 



CENTURY XVII. 

1. Missions of the Roman church. — 2. China.— 3. Japan. — 
4. Protestant Missions. — 5. Popish Missions in Africa and 
South America. — 6. Protestant Missions in North America. 
— 7. Infidelity. — 8. Learning. — 9. Popes. — 10. Efforts of 
Rome to reclaim Protestants. — 11. Abyssinia — 12. Monks. 
13. Jesuits. — 14. Dominicans and Jansenists. — 15. Quietists- 
— 16, Lutheran church. — 17. Syncretism. — 18. Pietism. — 19. 
Reformed churches. — 20. Arminian system. — 21. Synod of 

• Dort. — 22. England. — 23. Arminians. — 24. Quakers. — 25. 
English Baptists. — 26. Socinians- 

I. Great efforts were made in this century by 
the Roman pontiffs to propagate Christianity, and 
to establish their power and authority in foreign 
lands, and among the heathen. In the year 1622, 
was established at Rome, by Gregory XV., the 
famous Congregation for Propagati?ig the Faith, 
commonly called the Propaganda, which is fur- 
nished with very extensive revenues. This body, 
consisting chiefly of cardinals, has for its object 
the propagation of the Romish religion in all 
parts of the world ; and, by its immense reve- 
nues, is able to make almost unlimited expendi- 
tures for this purpose. To this institution was 
added another, by Urban VIII., in 1627, called 
the College or Seminary for Propagating the 
Faith ; in which young men from all nations 
are carefully educated, to become preachers of 
Christianity in foreign countries. The Congre- 
gation of priests for foreign missions, was insti- 
tuted by the royal authority in France, in the 
year 1663; and also the Parisian Seminary for 
missions to foreign nations, was founded by cer- 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 273 

tain French bishops and theologians. From this 
Seminary go forth the apostolic vicars of Siam, 
Tonquin, and Cochin China, the bishops of Baby- 
lon, and the apostolic vicars of Persia, and other 
missionaries to the Asiatic nations. 

Between the Jesuits and the monks of other or- 
ders, that were sent out on these foreign missions, 
there was considerable difference of opinion, and 
disputation, respecting the proper manner of con- 
verting the heathen. The Jesuits thought it pro- 
per to practise every sort of art and deception, in 
order to accomplish their purpose ; and their con- 
verts were permitted to retain most of their pagan 
rites and superstitions, with only a slight accom- 
modation to Christianity ; and were only required 
to assume the name of Christian by submitting to 
baptism, and other ceremonies of the Romish 
church. The natural propensities of the people 
they complied with, as far as possible, and care- 
fully avoided whatever was opposed to them. 
This course was condemned by the other orders, 
as tending wholly to subvert the truth of Chris- 
tianity ; but such was the power and influence of 
the Jesuits, that neither they nor the Roman pon- 
tiffs themselves, were able to correct all that they 
saw, and acknowledged to be wrong in that pow- 
erful sect. 

By means of the missionary institutions above 
named, and the missionaries sent out and sus- 
tained by them, the name and religion of papal 
Christians were sounded over nearly all Asia in 
this century. Nearly all the parts of India, espe- 
cially those formerly subject to the Portuguese, 
till they were driven out by the Dutch, received 
some sparks of light, though involved in much 
obscurity, by the labours chiefly of the Jesuits. 



274 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

But no mission to these nations was more noticed 
or more successful, than that to Madura, a king- 
dom situated in the central parts of India, on this 
side the Ganges. This mission was established 
by an Italian Jesuit, by the name of Robert de 
Nobili; who feigned himself a Brahmin, come 
from a distant country, professing to reform the 
corruptions of their own religion ; and, by stain- 
ing his face, and adopting a very austere and 
painful mode of life, he persuaded the credulous 
people to believe him. This mission prospered 
wonderfully, until it is said to have embraced a 
community almost numberless. But in 1744, 
Benedict XIV., who did not approve of this crafty 
method of the Jesuits in converting the nations, by 
his mandate, prostrated all these once flourishing 
missions. 

The Jesuits first introduced papal Christianity 
into Siam, Tonquin, and Cochin China ; and vast 
multitudes in these nations are said to have 
eagerly embraced it. But when Alexander VII., 
in the year 1658, thought proper to place bishops 
over the new church, and for this purpose sent 
over certain French priests, clothed with authority 
from himself, the Jesuits, who can bear no supe- 
riors, and scarcely any equals, treated them with 
great contumely and abuse, and would not suffer 
them to enter their harvest. Hence arose in the 
court of Rome a protracted contest ; the issue of 
which plainly showed, that the Jesuits would 
readily resort to the authority of the Roman 
pontiffs to extend and confirm their power, but 
treated it with contempt when it opposed their in- 
terests and emoluments. 

II. The large and opulent kingdom of China 
was visited, in the beginning of this century, by 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 275 

Jesuits, Dominicans, Franciscans, Capuchins, and 
others, for the purpose of spreading the knowledge 
of Christianity. Their labours were at first at- 
tended with great success. But the Jesuits justly 
claim the honour of surmounting the obstacles that 
stood in their way among that proud nation, so 
tenacious of the customs of their ancestors. Find- 
ing them eager after knowledge, and very fond of 
the arts and sciences, especially the mathematics, 
the Jesuits sent among them men, not only well 
acquainted with human nature, and discreet in 
managing affairs, but also profoundly versed in 
learning and the abstruse sciences. Some of these 
by their address, the elegance of their manners, 
and their skill in business, soon acquired such in- 
fluence, that high honours and offices were con- 
ferred on them by the emperor ; and they were 
employed in affairs of the greatest consequence in 
the court itself. By these means they were able 
without much difficulty, to collect disciples of every 
rank, sex, and age, in all the provinces of this 
vast empire. Their prosperity received a tempo- 
rary check on the death of Xun-Chi, the first 
emperor of the Mogul race, who left his son a 
minor. For the chief nobles, who had long view- 
ed the new religion with great aversion, stripped 
the Jesuits of their advantages, their fortunes, and 
their privileges, and condemned John Adam Schall 
their leader, to be put to death, and others to be 
banished the country. But in the year 1669, 
when Cham- Hi took the sceptre into his own 
hands, the prostrate cause of the Jesuits was not 
only restored, but in process of time was advanced 
and exalted more than ever. In 1692 this empe- 
ror published a law, in which he denied that the 
Christian religion was injurious to the state, as its 



276 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

opposers had contended, and gave all his subjects 
full liberty to embrace it; and in 1700, even 
erected a splendid temple for the Jesuits within 
the limits of his own palace. Christianity, or 
rather Jesuitism, seemed now to be almost trium- 
phant in China. But the enemies of the Jesuits 
strenuously maintain, that they purchased this 
success at the expense of committing offences and 
crimes of a detestable character ; that they per- 
suaded the emperor and his nobles, that there was 
very little difference between the ancient religion 
of China, or the precepts of Confucius, and the 
religion of Christ ; that they mixed the Chinese 
superstitions with Christianity, and allowed their 
disciples to follow the profane customs and im- 
pious rites of their ancestors ; and the like. This 
brought about a strenuous controversy in the Ro- 
mish church, in which some of the popes seem to 
have decided for, and others against, the Jesuits. 

III. Christianity had been introduced into Japan, 
the preceding century, by Francis Xavier, and 
had met with very great success. Schools and 
churches were erected, even in the capital Meaco. 
In 1585, a Japanese embassy was sent to Rome ; 
and papal Christianity seemed about to become 
the prevailing religion. There were not less than 
two hundred thousand Christians, and among 
them, princes, courtiers, chief nobles, and gene- 
rals. But the base conduct of the Europeans de- 
feated this prospect, and led the emperor to sus- 
pect Christianity to be all a farce. He became 
jealous of the designs of these strangers, and sus- 
pected that it was only a scheme to get possession 
of his country. In 1587, he commenced a perse- 
cution. All Jesuits were ordered to quit the coun- 
try. Some obeyed, but others remained under 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 277 

the protection of the nobles. Out of two hundred 
and fifty churches, seventy were pulled down ; 
and more than twenty thousand Christians lost 
their lives. Persecution was renewed in 1596, 
from this circumstance; a Spanish sea captain, 
driven upon the coast, showed a chart of exten- 
sive countries subject to his master ; and being 
asked how his master could conquer so many 
nations, he said, their missionaries went forward, 
and prepared the minds of the people to favour 
him, and then fleets and armies made an easy 
conquest. When this was transmitted to court, 
the emperor swore, that the Spaniards should 
never thus conquer Japan ; and immediately set 
himself to exterminate Christianity, which he 
called a devilish law. The missionaries were 
imprisoned ; and not a few of them, as well as of 
their converts, were put to death. Yet still, in 
the beginning of this century, in the year 1603, 
there were one hundred and twenty Jesuits, most 
of them priests, in Japan. Another persecution 
was brought on by an English officer of a Dutch 
ship, who cautioned the Japanese to beware of the 
military enterprises of the Spaniards ; and who 
represented the priests as designing men, who had 
been excluded from most European countries, and 
who did not teach genuine Christianity. And yet, 
by these persecutions, the number of Jesuit-disci- 
ples in Japan had not been greatly diminished ; 
for many converts were made from time to time 
that supplied the place of those who had renounc- 
ed the faith, or been cut off, by persecution : and 
some estimates make the number to have been 
about four hundred thousand, aud others near six 
hundred thousand. But in 1637, the emperor was 
exasperated by certain letters intercepted by the 
24 



278 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

Dutch, and by other evidence, bearing strong pro- 
bability, that the Jesuits and other teachers of the 
new religion, designed to raise a sedition by 
means of their disciples, and to bring Japan under 
the power of the Spanish kings. This brought 
on a persecution without a parallel in history ; 
and every vestige of the Christian name was ex- 
terminated with fire and sword. Decrees were 
passed requiring all foreigners to quit the country 
at once, on pain of death ; and subjecting every 
foreigner to the same penalty, who should ever 
set his foot in the country. The return of the 
Japanese Christians to paganism, was now per- 
emptorily required, on pain of death. The de- 
crees were rigorously executed ; and two years 
after, the Portuguese were all driven from the 
country ; and only the Hollanders were allowed 
to introduce a small quantity of European goods, 
and to live as it were, imprisoned in an extreme 
corner of the empire. Thus fell the Japanese 
church, if church it may be called, after it had 
stood very near a century. And this event is 
now, it is said, annually celebrated in all the sea- 
ports, by publicly trampling under foot the cross 
and all the Popish images. 

IV. Many respectable and pious men attempted 
to rouse the Lutherans, in imitation of the Roman 
Catholics, to missionary efforts in behalf of the 
heathen; but nothing of any consequence was 
done. " Justinian Ernest, Baron of Wels, in 
16G4, published two letters, addressed to the Lu- 
theran community, on a reformation of manners, 
and efforts for the conversion of the heathen. In 
the first he proposes to them three questions : — Is 
it right, that we evangelical Christians should 
keep the Gospel ourselves, and not seek to spread 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 279 

it abroad ? — Is it right, that we every where en- 
courage so many to study theology, yet give them 
no opportunity to go abroad ; but rather keep 
them, three, six, or more years, waiting for 
parishes to become vacant, or for the posts 
of schoolmasters? — Is it right, that we should 
expend so much in dress, high living, useless 
amusements and expensive fashions ; yet hitherto, 
have never thought of any means of spreading the 
Gospel ? His proposal to form a missionary 
association was approved by some, but objected 
to by others, especially among the higher clergy. 
He himself advanced twelve thousand dollars for 
the object; went to Holland on the subject, and at 
length shipped for the Dutch West Indies, to 
embark himself in missionary labour ; but he was 
no more heard of." 

" Among the English, in the year 1647, by an 
act of Parliament, the business of propagating 
Christianity was committed to the care of a society 
composed of men of the highest respectability and 
integrity. This society was revived in the reign 
of Charles II., A. D. 1661, and again confirmed, 
and invested with extraordinary privileges and 
rights, by William III., in the year 1701 ; and be- 
ing enriched with the splendid donations of kings, 
nobles, and private individuals, has continued 
down to our own times." It was this society that 
supported the various missionary operations in 
New England, during the seventeenth century. 
Its expenditures in the year 1661 amounted 
to three thousand two hundred and eighty dol- 
lars. 

By the labours of the Dutch, an immense num- 
ber of people in the island of Ceylon, on the coast 
of Malabar, in the island of Formosa, and in other 



280 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

countries of Asia, are said to have renounced the 
impious rites of their fathers. " The Dutch con- 
quered Ceylon from the Portuguese, about the 
middle of this century, and immediately estab- 
lished there the Protestant religion, excluding all 
others from every office. The Portuguese inhab- 
itants, and the natives, both Catholics and pagans, 
in large numbers, embraced the established faith, 
at least in pretence. The country was divided 
into two hundred and forty parishes ; a church was 
erected, and a school established in each. Every 
ten schools had a catechist, who was their super- 
intendent. About fifteen clergymen were assigned 
to the island. In 1672, Baldceus, one of the 
Dutch ministers, gives account of thirty native 
churches in JafTnapatam, in which were about 
thirty thousand attendants on worship on Sundays, 
and about sixteen thousand pupils in the schools du- 
ring the week. Near the close of the century, Dr. 
Leusden wrote to Dr. Increase Mather of Boston, 
that in and near the island of Ceylon, the Dutch 
pastors had baptized about three hundred thousand 
of the natives. The Dutch had also translated 
and published in the Cingalese language, consid- 
erable portions of the Bible, besides catechisms, 
prayers, and other Christian books. The Dutch 
having possessed themselves of a large part of the 
island of Java, opened a church in Batavia, the 
capital, in the year 1621. Pursuing much the 
same plans here as at Ceylon, in the year 1721, 
they could reckon one hundred thousand Christ- 
ians in Java, and two Dutch, two Portuguese, 
and one or two Malay churches at Batavia. The 
New Testament in Malay was printed at Amster- 
dam, 1668, at the expense of the Dutch East India 
Company. Soon after establishing the Gospel in 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 281 

Java, the Dutch sent ministers from Batavia to the 
island of Amboyna, and in 1686 it is said they 
had converted thirty thousand of the natives. 
Here too, schools were established, and a number 
of ministers stationed, at the expense of the Dutch 
East India Company." 

" In 1634, the Dutch formed a settlement on 
the western part of the island of Formosa. Rob- 
ert Junius, of Delft, was sent out by the Dutch 
government to establish Christianity there. He is 
said to have baptized six thousand persons, and 
to have set up schools, in which about six hun- 
dred young men were taught to read. He com- 
posed some prayers, and translated certain psalms 
into the Formosan language; and though his 
labours were chiefly in the northern parts of the 
island, yet he had planted churches in twenty -three 
towns in the south, and had set pastors over them, 
when he returned to Holland. In 1661, the Gos- 
pels of Matthew and John were translated into the 
Formosan language, by Dan. Gravius, and printed 
at Amsterdam, together with a catechism. But 
probably before these books reached the island, it 
was captured by a Chinese pirate, and it has since 
belonged to the Chinese. Besides the converts in 
these places, the Dutch made many others in Su- 
matra, Timor, Celebes, Banda, Ternate, and the 
neighbouring Molucca islands." 

V. The Capuchin monks, about the middle 
of this century, encountered incredible toils and 
hardships in bringing some of the ferocious 
nations of Africa, contiguous to the Portuguese 
settlements on the western coast, to the knowledge 
of Christ. But their success was not great. The 
Aborigines of America, who have been subdued 
by the Spanish, Portuguese, and French, have re- 
24 * 



282 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

ceived some slight knowledge of the Romish 
religion, by the Jesuits, Franciscans, and others ; 
but this knowledge has usually exerted but little 
influence, and it is wholly obscured by the bar- 
barity of their customs and manners. In some 
provinces, both in North and South America, 
Indian Commonwealths have been founded by the 
Jesuits. " But while the Jesuits highly extol the 
merits and zeal of their order in this thing, others 
deny their claims ; and maintain, that they are 
more eager after public honours, wealth and 
power, than the advancement of Christianity ; and 
say, they have collected immense quantities of 
gold, from Paraguay, which is subject to their 
sole authority, and from other countries, which 
they have transmitted to their society in Europe. 
VI. Very different from these, were the mis- 
sionary efforts of Eliot, the Mayhews, Bourne, 
and others, of the Puritan emigrants to New Eng- 
land. Eliot, who has been called the Apostle of 
the Indians, laboured among them from 1632, 
fifty-eight years, or until his death, in 1690. He 
established a number of congregations, and set 
over them Indian preachers whom he had instruct- 
ed. He set up schools in their villages, introduced 
a regular form of civil government, and many of 
the useful arts and industry. He translated into 
the Indian language, primers, catechisms, the 
Practice of Piety, Baxter's Call to the Unconverted, 
several of Mr. Shepherd's works, and at length the 
whole Bible, which was first published at Cam- 
bridge in 1664, and again just after his death. — 
The Mayhews laboured much among the Indians 
in Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard ; and a 
large number of them became converts to Christ- 
ianity. Mr. Richard Bourne was ordained, in 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 283 

1666, over an Indian church at Mashpee. His 
charge, in 1674, embraced about five hundred 
souls, of whom ninety were baptized, and twenty 
seven communicants. Many others devoted some 
part of their time to the instruction of the Indians. 
— The state of Christianity among the Indians of 
New England, in 1687, was thus described by 
Dr. Increase Mather, in a letter to Dr. Leusden : 
" There are six churches of baptized Indians in 
New England, and eighteen assemblies of cate- 
chumens professing the name of Christ. Of the 
Indians, there are four and twenty, who are 
preachers of the word of God: and besides these, 
there are four English ministers, who preach the 
gospel in the Indian tongue." 

VII. In the seventeenth century, infidelity be- 
gan to prevail to a great extent ; and not a few 
persons, and some of them men of considerable 
learning and talents, distinguished themselves as 
the opposers of Christianity. The English com- 
plain, that from the time of Charles II., their na- 
tion was contaminated with the grossest vice and 
profligacy ; that this state of things gave rise to 
unbridled licentiousness of speculation, and dispu- 
tation on religious subjects ; and that both united 
produced a multitude of persons who prostituted 
their talents and ingenuity, to extinguish all sense 
of religion and piety. The standard bearer of this 
impious company, who set themselves in opposi- 
tion to God and things sacred, was Thomas Hob- 
bes, of Malmesbury. He subverts all the founda- 
tions of religion, and makes morality depend wholly 
on the enactments of monarchs. He was a man, 
daring, crafty, acute, and perspicacious, and of 
more genius than learning or knowledge, either 
human or divine. John Wilmot, earl of Roches- 



284 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

ter, attacked God and religion with even more 
fury than Hobbes. He was a man of great 
discernment and brilliancy of genius ; but of 
astonishing levity, and while health permitted, 
libidinous and debauched. He died, 1680, an 
humble penitent, seriously lamenting and de- 
testing his former wickedness and profanity, 
and casting his soul upon the mercy of God in 
Christ, Anthony Ashly Cooper, earl of Shaftes- 
bury, attacked Christianity in a covert manner, 
sometimes expressing great respect for it. — But 
his pungent wit, the elegance of his style, and the 
charms of his genius, rendered him the more dan- 
gerous foe to religion, in proportion to the con- 
cealment he practised. He died at Naples of a 
consumption, A. D. 1703. Other writers of this 
stamp were, John Toland, an Irishman ; who was 
not destitute of learning, but vain-glorious, and of 
abandoned morals: — Edward Herbert, baron of 
Cherbury ; who if he did not deny the truth of 
Christianity, yet maintained that the knowledge 
of it, was not necessary to salvation : — Charles 
Blount, who committed suicide in 1693. — On the 
continent, Benedict de Spinoza, a Portuguese Jew, 
who died at the Hague in 1677, stands at the head 
of those who embrace the Pantheistic doctrine ; 
i. e. that the universe is God. He has had many 
followers and admirers, and it is said still has in 
Europe. 

VIII. Literature, the arts and sciences, were 
advanced in this century by many distinguished 
individuals : such as, Galileo in Italy ; Tycho 
Brahe, among the Danes ; Francis Bacon, (Lord 
Verulam,) Robert Boyle, Sir Isaac Newton, and 
John Locke, among the English ; John Kepler, 
John Hevelius, William Godfrey Leibnitz, among 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 285 

the Germans ; the Bernouilli in Switzerland ; and 
Hugo Grotius in Holland. Also, among the Fa- 
thers of the Oratory, and the Jansenists, in France, 
learning and philosophy were greatly advanced 
by such men as Malebranche, Arnaud, Lami, 
Nicole, Pascal, Des Cartes, and Gassendi. The 
court of Rome, however, fearing every thing new, 
viewed the progress of science with great jealousy ; 
and Galileo was imprisoned for bringing forward 
the Copernican system of astronomy. — There was 
a philosophical sect that made much noise in this 
century, the professors of which styled themselves, 
the Rosecrucian Brethren. They were a set of 
Alchemists, who sought for the Philosopher's 
Stone, and the Elixir of Life ; and who explained 
every thing in the moral and religious, as well as 
in the natural world, by chemical terms, and in 
analogy with chemical principles. 

IX. The Roman pontiffs of the seventeenth 
century were, as usual, some better and some 
worse. Innocent X., from A. D. 1644 to 1655, 
surrendered himself to the control of a wicked 
and insolent kinswoman, by the name of Olym- 
pia ; with whom, it would seem, he kept up a very 
criminal intercourse. All public affairs, civil and 
sacred, were under her control. Innocent XI., 
from 1676 to 1689, was perhaps the best pope of 
this century. He exerted himself to reform the 
corrupt state of the church and of the clergy, but 
with little success. Innocent XII., from 1691 to 
1700, was like minded, but with no better suc- 
cess. 

X. Great efforts were made by the court of 
Rome, not only to extend their power and influ- 
ence over foreign and heathen nations, as we have 
seen ; but also to reclaim the dominion which they 



286 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

had lost by the Reformation. To accomplish this 
end, they resorted to the powers of genius, to arms 
and violence, to promises, to flatteries, to disputa- 
tions, to wiles and fallacies ; but, for the most 
part, with little success. It was this that brought 
on the disastrous thirty years' war of Germany, 
which was terminated by the peace of Westphalia, 
A. D. 1648. It was in this war, that the cele- 
brated Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden, dis- 
tinguished himself, and lost his life in defending 
the German Protestants from the tyranny of the 
house of Austria. By the peace of Westphalia, 
the great interests of the Lutheran and Reformed 
churches were firmly established. After this, the 
Roman pontiffs and their adherents did not ven- 
ture to make public war against the Protestants ; 
but whenever it could safely be done, they exerted 
themselves to the utmost to abridge their rights, 
advantages, and privileges, in every possible man- 
ner ; although secured to them by oaths, and the 
most sacred enactments. In Hungary, in Poland, 
in the valleys of Piedmont, and throughout Ger- 
many, they who dissented from the Roman pon- 
tiff, experienced from time to time, to their very 
great sorrow and distress, that no compact, limit- 
ing the power of the Romish church, was account- 
ed sacred and inviolable at Rome. "And so 
long," says Dr. Mosheim, " as it shall remain the 
established belief at Rome, that God has given to 
the Romish church and to its head, dominion over 
the whole Christian world, it can never be expect- 
ed that those can live in security and safety, who 
renounce subjection to it." 

Many efforts were made to bring England back 
to her allegiance to the pope. One was the gun- 
powder plot, A. D. 1605, in the reign, of James I., 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 287 

in which it was designed, by means of gunpowder 
deposited under the parliament house, to destroy 
the king, and the whole British parliament, at a 
single blow. But this nefarious plot, devised by 
three Jesuits, was happily discovered in time. In 
the reign of Charles I., the son and successor of 
James 1., who was guided chiefly by the counsels 
of William Laud, archbishop of Canterbury, (who 
was at least half a Papist,) the same thing was 
attempted, with great hope of success, by caresses 
and promises. But this hope was blasted by the 
civil war, in which Laud and Charles were both 
beheaded, and Oliver Cromwell placed at the head 
of the government, with the title of Protector. The 
same attempts were made in the reign of Charles 
II., and continued in the reign of James II., and 
finally brought on the revolution, in which the 
house of Stuart yielded to the house of Hanover, 
and William, prince of Orange, who was a Pro- 
testant, ascended the throne of England. 

Many efforts were made on the continent to 
bring about a reconciliation and union between 
Catholics and Protestants, by means of public con- 
ferences and disputations, but without any success. 
The great effort on the part of the Romanists was 
to make it appear, that when rightly understood, 
there was but small difference between them ; a 
thing which Protestants could never be persuaded 
to believe. 

XI. In the beginning of the century, the Portu- 
guese Jesuits, by their cunning and management, 
had induced the king of Abyssinia, to swear obe- 
dience to the authority of the Roman pontiff, and 
to require his people to embrace the religion of 
Rome. But by their ill-timed zeal, and violent 
proceedings, they lost every thing: and in 1634, 



288 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

they were wholly driven from the country, with • 
out the least indulgence ; since which time the 
Abyssinians have strictly prohibited foreigners 
from entering their borders. 

XII. Several new orders of Monks arose in this 
century ; as the French Society of Fathers of the 
Oratory of the Holy Jesus, instituted in 1613. 
This institution was intended to oppose the Jesuits, 
and has trained up many persons eminent for 
piety, eloquence, and erudition. — The Priests of 
the Missions, instituted in 1632 ; — they were to 
attend to three things : first, to improve and amend 
themselves, daily, by prayers, meditation, reading, 
&c. ; secondly, to perforin sacred missions among 
the people living in the country towns and villages, 
eight months in the year ; and lastly, to superin- 
tend seminaries, in which young men are educat- 
ed for the priesthood, and train up candidates for 
the sacred office. Under the counsel and patron- 
age of these Priests of the Missions, are the Vir- 
gins of Love, or the Sisters of Charity, whose 
business it is to minister to the indigent in sick- 
ness. 

XIII. Many and grievous charges were brought 
against the Jesuits in almost every country, by 
their enemies, especially the Jansenists ; many of 
which charges were substantiated by abundant 
evidence ; yet they maintained their ground, and 
possessed great wealth and influence. 

That the doctrines of Christianity were greatly 
perverted, and the very foundations of morality in 
a great measure destroyed, by the Jesuits, is the 
public complaint of many writers of every class, 
and of societies of men, in the Romish church. 
They are charged with teaching the following doc- 
trines, viz. " That a bad man, who is an entire 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY, 289 

stranger to the love of God, provided he feels some 
fear of divine wrath, and from a dread of punish- 
ment avoids grosser crimes, is a fit candidate for 
eternal salvation : That men may sin, with safety, 
provided they have a probable reason for the sin ; 
i. e. some argument or authority in favour of it : 
That actions in themselves wrong, and contrary to 
the divine law, are allowable, provided a person 
can control his own mind, and in his thoughts con- 
nect a good end, with the criminal deed, or as they 
express it, direct his attention aright : That philo- 
sophical sins, that is, actions which are contrary 
to the law of nature and to right reason, in a per- 
son ignorant of the written law of God, or dubious 
as to its true meaning, are light offences, and do 
not deserve the punishments of hell : That the 
deeds a man commits, when wholly blinded by his 
lusts and the paroxysm of passion, and destitute of 
all sense of religion, though they be of the vilest 
and most inexcusable character, can by no means 
be charged to his account in the judgment of God ; 
because such a man is like a madman : That it is 
right for a man, when taking an oath, or forming 
a contract, in order to deceive the judge and sub- 
vert the validity of the covenant or oath, tacitly to 
add something to the words of the compact or 
oath : and others of like kind. The reason assign- 
ed, why so many kings and princes, and persons 
of every rank and sex, committed the care of their 
souls to the Jesuits, rather than to others, is, that 
they by their precepts, extenuated the guilt of sin, 
flattered the criminal passions of men, and opened 
an easy and convenient way to heaven. 

XIV. A great controversy was carried on be- 
tween the Dominicans and Jansenists on the one 
side, and the Jesuits on the other, respecting the 
25 



290 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

doctrines of Grace, Predestination, &c. ; the for- 
mer maintaining the system of Augustine, differ- 
ing little from that of Calvin ; the latter approach- 
ing that of Pelagius, or nearer, perhaps, to what 
has since been called Arminianism. These dis- 
cussions produced great excitement, and sometimes 
violent contests between the parties. By the ur- 
gent solicitation of the Jesuits, pope Innocent X. 
was induced by a public edict, dated May 31st, 
1653, to condemn as false and heretical, the five 
following propositions, extracted from the works 
of Jansenius, viz : 

1. " That there are some commands of God, 
which righteous and good men are absolutely un- 
able to obey, though disposed to do it ; and that 
God does not give them so much grace as that 
they may be able to observe them. 2. That no 
person in this corrupt state of nature, can resist 
divine grace operating upon the mind. 3. That in 
order to a man's being praise or blame worthy be- 
fore God, he need not be exempt from necessity, 
but only from coercion. 4. That the Semi-Pela- 
gians erred greatly by supposing that the human 
will has the power both of admitting and of reject- 
ing the operations of internal, preventing grace. 5. 
That whoever affirms that Jesus Christ made expia- 
tion by his sufferings and death, for the sins of all 
mankind, is a Semi-Pelagian." 

XV. A sect called Quietists, arose towards the 
end of this century, and attracted considerable no- 
tice. They held doctrines very similar to those of 
the ancient Mystics. The author, of this sect, 
was one Molinos, a Spanish priest, who was thrown 
into prison for his sentiments, where he died ; yet 
he had numerous disciples in Italy, Spain, France, 
and the Netherlands. 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 291 

In regard to the Greek church, nothing of pecu- 
liar interest seems to have transpired in this cen- 
tury. Some efforts were still made, to bring over 
the Greeks, and other Asiatic Christians, to the 
Romish church ; but without effect. 

XVI. The Lutheran church sustained some loss 
in the beginning of this century, by the secession 
of Maurice, landgrave of Hesse, who went over to 
the Reformed ; and commanded that the people, 
throughout his province, should be thoroughly 
taught the Reformed doctrines, and that public wor- 
ship be conducted in the Genevan manner. John 
Sigismund also, the elector of Brandenburg, left the 
communion of the Lutherans, and went over to the 
Reformed. Many efforts were made, from time to 
time, to bring about a union between the Lutheran 
and the Reformed churches ; but without success. 
The Lutherans never would yield in the smallest 
degree. 

XVII. There were two controversies which 
greatly troubled the Lutheran church during this 
century. One was called the Syncretistic, and the 
other, the Pietistic controversy. The first was oc- 
casioned by George Calixtus, a professor of theolo- 
gy, in the university of Helmstadt ; a man who 
had few equals in this century, either for learning or 
genius. His object was, it is said, to unite the 
Romish, Lutheran, and Calvinistic churches in the 
bonds of charity and benevolence. He maintain- 
ed, 1. " That the fundamental doctrines of Christ- 
ianity, by which he meant those elementary prin- 
ciples whence all its truths flow, were preserved in 
all three communions, and were contained in that 
ancient form of doctrine that is vulgarly known by 
the name of the Apostles' Creed. 2. That the 
tenets and opinions which had been constantly re- 



292 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

ceived by the ancient doctors, during the first five 
centuries, were to be considered as of equal truth 
and authority with the express declarations and 
doctrines of the Scriptures." This brought upon 
him a furious attack, and was the occasion of 
a protracted controversy, that had well nigh rent 
asunder the Lutheran church. 

XVIII. The Pietistic controversy grew out of 
the efforts of the learned and pious Spener, and 
others, who united with him, to revive true reli- 
gion, both among the people, and among the cler- 
gy, which seems at this time to have been at a low 
ebb. For this purpose, Spener set up private 
meetings at Frankfort, something like prayer- 
meetings, called Colleges of Piety, and afterwards 
published a book under the title of Pious Desires, 
in which he set forth his views of the evils exist- 
ing in the church, and their remedies. These 
views spread, and were adopted very extensively. 
Meetings for prayer and exhortation were opened 
in very many places ; and often through igno- 
rance or mistaken zeal, were improperly conduct- 
ed, and gave rise to considerable irregularities. 
The Pietists insisted on a change in the manner of 
teaching theology in the schools, more in conform- 
ity with the Scriptures, and the necessity of devot- 
ed piety in the teachers and ministers of religion. 
They also thought it necessary, 1. " To suppress 
in the public instruction, certain common expres- 
sions, which the depravity of men leads them to 
construe in a manner to favour their wickedness. 
Such were the following : that no person can at- 
tain, in the present life, that perfection which the 
iaw of God demands ; that good works are not 
necessary to salvation ; that in the act of justifica- 
tion, faith only is concerned, and not also good 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY* 293 

works. But very many feared, lest, if these bar 
riers were removed, the truth would be corrupted 
or at least, would be exposed naked and defence 
less to its enemies. 2. That stricter rules of con 
duct should be introduced, than were generally fol 
lowed ; and that many things, which foster the in 
ternal disease of the mind, such as dancing, pan 
tomimes, jocular discourse, plays, dramatic exhi- 
bitions, the reading of ludicrous books, and certain 
kinds of amusements, should be removed from the 
class of indifferent things, which are either good 
or bad according to the spirit and temper of those 
who engage in them, and should be classed among 
sinful and unlawful things. But many thought 
this morality too rigorous. Hence that old contro- 
versy of the schools was revived ; whether there 
are certain actions, that are neither good nor evil, 
but indifferent ; or whether every thing men do, 
is either sinful or holy. And on each of the sub- 
jects enumerated, there were frequent and very 
warm debates, which were not always conducted 
with precision, temperance, and gravity. 3. That 
in addition to the public assemblies for religious 
worship, there should be frequent private meetings 
for prayer and other religious exercises. But 
very many judged, and experience confirmed the 
opinion, that these Colleges of Piety, as they 
were called, were attended with more danger than 
profit." 

Besides these, a number of local or less impor- 
tant controversies were carried on in the Lutheran 
church, during this century, but which it would be 
unprofitable to mention. 

XIX. By the English and Dutch, the Reformed 
religion was transplanted into Africa, Asia, and es- 
pecially America. But the Reformed church in 
25* 



294 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

France, which had flourished from the times of 
Henry IV., and had produced so many eminent 
men, suffered an almost entire overthrow, under 
Louis XIV., by the revocation of the edict of Nan- 
tes. A. D. 1685. This edict, which had secured 
to the Protestants their rights and privileges for 
nearly one hundred years, Louis XIV., overcome 
by the arguments and importunate supplications 
of the French bishops, the Jesuits and the pope, 
revoked, and required his Reformed subjects to re- 
turn to the religion of their progenitors. This 
most unrighteous act deprived France, notwith- 
standing the great pains taken to prevent their 
escape from the kingdom, some say of half a mil- 
lion, and others say eight hundred thousand of her 
most valuable and useful citizens. Nearly forty 
thousand are said to have passed over to England, 
whence many of them came to the United States 
of America. Vast numbers settled in Holland, 
and large numbers in the Protestant states of Ger- 
many, particularly in Prussia, and in Switzerland 
and Denmark. The cruelties that attended this 
persecution are too various and horrible to be de- 
tailed. The Waldenses inhabiting the valleys of 
Piedmont, by the instruments of the Roman pon- 
tiff, were miserably oppressed and harassed from 
time to time, almost to extermination, particularly 
in the years 1655, 1686, and 1696. The church 
of the Palatinate, also, from the year 1685, when 
the government passed into the hands of a Roman 
Catholic prince, gradually suffered so much dimi- 
nution, that from holding the first rank, it was de- 
pressed to almost the lowest among the Reformed 
churches of Germany. 

The school at Geneva was in such reputation, 
that multitudes resorted to it from all parts ; and 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 295 

hence the opinions of Calvin, respecting the divine 
decrees and grace, readily spread every where, 
and were generally embraced and introduced into 
all the schools. Yet there were some here and 
there, who wholly disagreed with these doctrines, 
of whom James Arminius, professor of theology 
at Ley den, was the principal one, and gave name 
to the party. 

XX. " The distinguishing tenets of the Armi- 
nians," says Buck, u may be comprised in the 
five following articles, called the Five Points, 
relative to predestination, universal redemption, 
the corruption of man, conversion, and perse- 
verance, viz : — 

1. That God, from all eternity, determined to 
bestow salvation on those who, he foresaw, would 
persevere unto the end, and to inflict everlasting 
punishments on those who should continue in 
their unbelief, and resist his divine succours ; so 
that election was conditional, and reprobation in 
like manner the result of foreseen infidelity and 
persevering wickedness. 

2. That Jesus Christ, by his sufferings and 
death, made an atonement for the sins of all 
mankind in general, and of every individual in 
particular ; that however none but those who 
believe in him, can be partakers of divine 
benefits. 

3. That true faith cannot proceed from the ex- 
ercise of our natural faculties and powers, nor 
from the force and operation of free will, since 
man, in consequence of his natural corruption, is 
incapable of either thinking or doing any good 
thing ; and that, therefore, it is necessary, in 
order to his conversion and salvation, that he be 
regenerated and renewed by the operation of the 



296 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

Holy Ghost, which is the gift of God through 
Jesus Christ. 

4. That this divine grace or energy of the 
Holy Ghost, begins and perfects every thing that 
can be called good in man ; and consequently, 
all good works are to be attributed to God alone: 
that, nevertheless, this grace is offered to all, and 
does not force men to act against their inclina- 
tions, but may be resisted and rendered ineffectual 
by the perverse will of the impenitent sinner. 
Some modern Arminians interpret this and the 
last article with greater latitude. 

5. That God gives to the truly faithful who 
are regenerated by his grace, the means of pre- 
serving themselves in this state. The first Ar- 
minians, indeed, had some doubts with respect to 
the closing part of this article, but their followers 
uniformly maintain, that " the regenerate may 
lose true justifying faith, fall from a state of 
grace, and die in their sins." 

XXI. It was to settle this Arminian contro- 
versy, that the famous Synod of Dort was con- 
vened in 1618, by authority of the States General. 
" The most eminent divines of the United Pro- 
vinces," says Buck, " and deputies from the 
churches of England, Scotland, Switzerland, Bre- 
men, Hesse, and the Palatinate, assembled on this 
occasion, in order to decide the controversy be- 
tween the Calvinists and Arminians. The Synod 
had hardly commenced its deliberations, before a 
dispute on the mode of proceeding drove the Ar- 
minian party .from the Assembly. The Arminians 
insisted upon beginning with a refutation of the 
Calvinistic doctrines, especially that of reproba- 
tion, whilst the Synod determined, that, as the 
remonstrants were accused of departing from the 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 297 

reformed faith, they ought first to justify them- 
selves by scriptural proof of their own opinions. 
All means to persuade the Armenians to submit 
to this procedure having failed, they were ban- 
ished the Synod for their refusal. The Synod, 
however, proceeded in their examination of the 
Arminian tenets, condemned their opinions, and 
excommunicated their persons, whether justly or 
unjustly, let the reader judge. Surely no one 
can be an advocate for the persecution which 
followed, and which drove these men from their 
churches and country into poverty and exile. 
The authority of this Synod was far .from being 
universally acknowledged, either in Holland or in 
England. The provinces of Friesland, Zealand, 
Utrecht, Guelderland, and Groningen, could not 
be persuaded to adopt their decisions, and they 
were opposed by king James I. and Archbishop 
Laud, in England." 

XXII. The English church was agitated with 
violent storms. When James I. came to the 
throne, after the death of Elizabeth, the Puritans 
promised themselves greater liberty and privileges ; 
for he had been educated in Scotland, and pro- 
fessed attachment to the puritan doctrines : But 
very soon they found their hopes disappointed. 
James was ambitious and fond of power ; and he 
at once judged that the Episcopal form of church 
government would be more convenient and friendly 
to his wishes than the Presbyterian. His maxim 
was, " No bishop, no king." He, therefore, showed 
great partiality to the Episcopalians. And after 
a while he embraced the Arminian doctrines, and 
violently opposed the decrees of the Synod of 
Dort : and there is good evidence to believe that, 
before his death, in 1625, he even contemplated 



298 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

uniting himself with the church of Rome. The 
king becoming thus alienated from the Calvinistic 
opinions and customs, the old hatred against the 
Puritans, which had somewhat subsided, again 
revived. His son and successor, Charles I., de- 
termined to walk in the steps of his father. He 
therefore used every effort, first, to extend the- 
regal power, and to exalt it above the authority of 
the laws ; secondly, to subject the whole church 
of Great Britain and Ireland, to the episcopal form 
of government, which he considered as of divine 
appointment, and as affording the best security to 
the crown ; and thirdly, to reduce the whole reli- 
gion of the country to the pattern and form of the 
primitive church, in the first four centuries, re- 
jecting all the doctrines and institutions of the 
Genevans. The execution of these designs he 
entrusted chiefly to William Laud, then bishop of 
London, and afterwards, from 1633, archbishop 
of Canterbury. The lawless and violent manner 
in which Laud prosecuted this work ; his attempts 
to introduce Arminian doctrines and Romish cere- 
monies into the English church ; his high-toned 
episcopacy, which he attempted to impose upon 
the Scottish church ; the violent persecution he 
carried on against the Puritans; and his taking 
some direct steps towards a union with the church 
of Rome, excited immense odium against the king, 
and himself, and the whole order of bishops. He 
was therefore arraigned by the parliament in 1644, 
judged guilty of betraying the liberties and the 
religion of the country, and beheaded. The king 
himself, in 1648, shared the same fate. During 
the Commonwealth, and the Protectorate of Crom- 
well, until the restoration of Charles II., the Pres- 
byterians and Independents had the principal 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 299 

sway. And it is melancholy still to witness a 
spirit of exclusion and intolerance. 

The famous Westminster Assembly of divines 
was called together, A. D. 1643, by the English 
parliament, in order to aid them by their counsel, 
in settling the government, worship, and doctrines 
of the English church. They were men of differ- 
ent sentiments, Presbyterians, Erastians, and In- 
dependents, with some moderate Episcopalians. 
But a great majority were Presbyterians. This 
Assembly drew up that Confession of Faith, Cate- 
chisms and form of government, which are still 
retained, with very slight alterations, by the Pres- 
byterian church, both in Scotland and America. 

" On the restoration of Charles II., to the throne 
of his father, in 1660, the ancient forms of eccle- 
siastical government, and public worship returned 
also, and the bishops recovered their lost dignities. 
Those who preferred other forms, or the Non-con- 
formists, as they were called in England, expected 
that some place would be assigned to them in the 
church ; but their hopes were quickly disappoint- 
ed. For Charles again placed bishops over the 
Scots, who were so religiously attached to the 
Genevan discipline ; and likewise over the Irish. 
And, afterwards, in the year 1662, all those who 
refused to subject themselves to the rites and in- 
stitutions of the English church, were, by a public 
law, separated wholly from its communion." 
This was the famous Act of Uniformity, which 
required all clergymen, not only to use the liturgy, 
but also to renounce and condemn the solemn 
League and Covenant, Presbyterian ordination, 
and all efforts for changing the present establish- 
ment. In consequence of this act, about two 
thousand ministers, chiefly Presbyterians, were 



300 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

turned out of their churches, because they could 
not conform to the law. At the same time, all the 
old laws against conventicles, neglect of the parish 
churches, &c, were revived : and these subjected 
ail Non-conformists to a civil prosecution. They 
continued therefore to suffer many inconveniences, 
and sometimes bloody persecution, until the Tol- 
eration Act, in the reign of William and Mary, 
A. D. 1689. This Act provides that all dissent- 
ers from the church of England, except Papists 
and Anti-trinitarians, shall, by taking an oath of 
allegiance, and subscribing to the doctrinal part 
of the Thirty-nine Articles, be exempted from all 
penalties prescribed by the Acts which enforce 
uniformity ; and be allowed to erect houses of 
worship, have their own preachers, and to meet 
and worship according to their own views, provided 
they do not when met, lock or bolt their doors. 
They are not, however, exempted from tithes, and 
other payments for the support of the established 
churches ; nor are they excused from the oaths re- 
quired by the Corporation and Test Acts, which 
exclude Non-conformists from all civil offices. In 
consequence of their persecutions and oppressions, 
multitudes of the Non-conformists, from time to 
time, emigrated to America, and planted flourish- 
ing colonies and churches in this land of freedom. 
The first of these emigrants landed at Plymouth 
Rock, A. D. 1620. 

XXIII. The Arminians were also called Re- 
monstrants, from a petition they presented to the 
States of Holland and West Friesland, in 1610, 
which was called a Remonstrance. The cause 
of Arminius was sustained by some of the first 
men in the commonwealth, such as John van 01- 
denbarnevelt, Hugo Grotius, and Rombout Hoo- 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 301 

gerbeets ; for which the first was condemned to 
suffer capital punishment, and the others impris- 
oned, through the influence of Maurice the prince 
of Orange. After the Arminians were condemned 
and excommunicated by the Synod of Dort, as be- 
fore stated, they were driven from all their offices, 
both civil and ecclesiastical, their ministers were 
prohibited from preaching; and their congrega- 
tions were suppressed. Refusing to submit to the 
two last of these hard decrees, they were subjected 
to fines, imprisonments, and various other punish- 
ments. Many of them retired to Antwerp, others 
to France, and a considerable number to Holstein, 
where they were kindly received by Frederic, the 
duke ; and where they built for themselves a 
town which they called Frederickstadt. 

After the death of Maurice, in 1625, they were 
permitted to return to Holland, as many as chose, 
and were restored to their former reputation and 
tranquillity. They founded a distinguished school 
at Amsterdam ; which has had some very eminent 
professors, as Simon Episcopius, Stephen Curcel- 
lseus, Philip Limborch, John Le Clerc, and John 
James Wetstein. The Arminians in Holland be- 
came more latitudinarian, bordering on Socinian 
sentiments, and have not increased much. Armi- 
nian doctrines, however, have prevailed very ex- 
tensively in many parts of the world. In the 
church of England, although ten Articles remain 
unchanged, and are decidedly Calvinistic, yet 
Arminian sentiments have prevailed since the 
days of Laud. But Arminians differ in many re- 
spects among themselves, and are uniform only 
in rejecting the doctrine of decrees and reproba- 

iXIV. The parent of the sect called Quakers, 
26 



302 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

which sprung up in England in the time of the 
civil wars, about the year 1650, was George Fox, 
a shoemaker ; a man of no education, of naturally 
a strong mind, but gloomy and visionary. He 
professed to be under the guidance of the Holy 
Spirit, and travelled about preaching, and exhort- 
ing the people to attend to the voice of the divine 
word, which lies concealed in the hearts of all. 
He sometimes interrupted worshipping assemblies, 
by speaking out in them ; for which he was im- 
prisoned by the magistrates, and several times 
very severely handled by the mob. He soon col- 
lected a number of disciples, some of whom seem 
to have been delirious fanatics ; but by degrees, 
they became a sober, harmless, inoffensive people. 
The first men of learning and influence, who con- 
nected themselves with the sect, were Robert 
Barclay, George Keith, and Samuel Fisher ; who 
assisted Fox in reducing his scheme to a regular 
system. For a long time they endured much suf- 
fering, and were severely punished ; because, on 
conscientious principles, they refused to address 
magistrates by their honorary titles, and to pay 
them customary respect ; to take the oath of alle- 
giance to the king ; to pay tithes to the clergy, 
&c. Under James II., however, they began to 
see better days : and William III. finally granted 
to them, as to other dissenters, the enjoyment of 
public liberty and tranquillity. 

Oppressed at home, the Quakers attempted to 
propagate their sentiments abroad, and to obtain a 
footing in foreign nations. Efforts of this sort 
were made in Germany, Prussia, France, Italy, 
Greece, Holland, and Holstein ; but generally 
without success. William Penn, the son of the 
English vice-admiral, united with the Quakers in 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 303 

1668, to whom Charles II., and the parliament, 
granted an extensive province in North America, 
now called Pennsylvania. Thither he, with many 
of the Quakers, went, near the end of this century. 
Other denominations, however, were not excluded ; 
and the colony was established on the most liberal 
and peaceable principles. — The religion of the 
Quakers is very much like that of the ancient 
Mystics. They discard external forms, and make 
religion consist in attending to the suggestions of 
the internal Word, the divine light within. They 
professed to believe in the divinity of the Saviour, 
the atonement, &c. But of late a large party of 
them, called Hicksites, from their leader, Elias 
Hicks, have professed Unitarian sentiments. The 
number of Quakers at the present time is estimat- 
ed as follows ; in England and Ireland forty thou- 
sand ; in Scotland not much over three hundred ; 
in the United States two hundred and twenty 
thousand. 

XXV. The following account of the English 
Baptists, I copy from Dr. Murdock's note. "Most 
of the Anabaptists mentioned in English history, 
prior to the reign of James I., appear to have been 
either Dutch and other foreign Anabaptists, who 
endeavoured to establish themselves in England, 
or small companies of converts made by them in 
the country. Yet there were probably many in- 
dividuals among the people, who questioned or 
denied, the propriety of infant baptism ; and there 
are some intimations of attempts, by such persons, 
to hold conventicles, in the latter part of the reign 
of Elizabeth. But the first regular congregation 
of English Baptists, appears to have originated 
from certain English Puritans who returned from 
Holland after the death of their pastor, Rev. John 



304 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

Smith, who died in 1610. These were General 
or Arminian Baptists ; and may be supposed to 
have derived many of their opinions from the 
Mennonites. From this time onward, churches 
of General Baptists were formed, here and there, 
in different parts of England. But in general, 
they made no great figure, and do not appear to 
have had much connexion, or to have professed 
one uniform faith. The Particular or Calvinistic 
Baptists trace their origin to a congregation of 
Independents, established in London in the year 
1616. This congregation having become very 
large, and some of them differing from the others, 
on the subject of infant baptism, they agreed to 
divide. Those who disbelieved in infant baptism 
were regularly dismissed, in 1633, and formed 
into a new church, under Rev. John Spilsbury. 
In 1638, several more members were dismissed 
to Mr. Spilsbury 's church. And in 1639, a new 
Baptist church was formed. Churches of Particu- 
lar Baptists now multiplied rapidly. In 1646, 
there were forty-six, in and about London. They 
published a confession of their faith in 1643, 
which was re-printed in 1644, and in 1646 ; and 
which was revised in 1689 by a convention of 
elders and delegates from more than one hundred 
churches in England and Wales. Besides these, 
there were, at that time, several churches of Cal- 
vinistic Baptists, who held to open communion, 
especially in Bedfordshire, where John Bunyan 
preached. There were also some seventh day 
Baptists. Baptist churches were also planted in 
Ireland, in the times of the civil wars, and Roger 
Williams established a Baptist church in Provi- 
dence (Rhode Island,) in 1639, which was the 
commencement of this denomination in America, 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 305 

On the restoration of Charles II. in 1660, the 
Baptists, with all other Non-conformists, were ex- 
posed to great troubles and persecutions ; and at 
the revolution, in 1688, they, with the other dis- 
senters, obtained free toleration. Among the 
English Baptists of this century were some men 
of education ; but the greater part of their preach- 
ers were not men of learning. The Particular 
Baptists at their general convention in 1689, made 
arrangements for the better education of young 
men for their pulpits ; and from their provisions 
originated afterwards, the famous Baptist Academy 
at Bristol. Before the erection of regular Baptist 
congregations, and indeed for some time after, it 
was very common for Baptists and others to be- 
long to the same church, and to worship and com- 
mune together. From their first rise, the Baptists 
were assailed for holding only to adult baptism, 
and that by immersion ; and they were not back- 
ward to defend themselves. The severest conflict 
of the Particular Baptists, was with the Quakers, 
in the time of William Penn. One of their wri- 
ters made statements for which the Quakers ac- 
cused him of falsehood ; which caused violent an- 
imosities, and much mutual crimination. The 
Particular Baptists had also controversies among 
themselves. One was, respecting their practice 
of confirmation, or imposing hands on those new- 
ly baptized. Another related to the propriety of 
admitting singing, as a part of their public wor- 
ship. The Particular Baptists scarcely differed at 
all, from the Independents, except on the mode 
and subjects of baptism. The General Baptists 
having no bond of union among themselves, held 
a considerable diversity of opinions ; and as they 
did not set forth full and explicit accounts of their 
26* 



306 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

faith, it is impossible to characterize them, other- 
wise than by saying, they in general laid little 
stress on doctrines, and allowed great liberty of 
opinion." 

XXVI. In the beginning of this century, the 
Socinians were in a flourishing condition in Tran- 
sylvania and Poland. They were in the full en- 
joyment of religious liberty ; had a distinguished 
school at Racow, furnished with teachers eminent 
for learning and talents ; a printing establishment. ; 
numerous congregations, and many patrons, who 
were men of the highest rank. They made great 
efforts to extend their church, and to obtain friends 
and patrons in other countries. They attempted, 
by their emissaries, to make proselytes among the 
great and the learned, in Holland, England, Ger- 
many, and Prussia. But their efforts were at- 
tended with little success. Nor did they long 
maintain their standing in Poland; for, in 1638, 
some students of the school at Racow, wantonly 
threw stones at a wooden statue of our Saviour 
extended on the cross, and demolished it. For 
this offence, the Papists procured a law to be en- 
acted at Warsaw which commanded the school at 
Racow to be broken up, the instructors to be 
banished in disgrace, the printing establishment to 
be destroyed, and the Socinian church to be shut 
up ; all which was executed. This was followed 
by far worse treatment in 1658; when all the 
Socinians, dispersed throughout Poland, were 
commanded to quit the country ; and it was made 
a capital offence, either to profess their doctrines, 
or to harbour others who professed them. They 
had three years allowed them in which to dispose 
of their property, and settle their affairs ; which 
were afterwards reduced to two. Finally, in the 



EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. 307 

year 1661, the tremendous edict was renewed; 
and all the Socinians that remained, were most 
inhumanly driven from Poland, with immense 
loss, not merely of property, but also of the health, 
and the lives of many persons. These exiles dis- 
persed into the provinces adjacent to Poland, Sile- 
sia, Brandenburg, Prussia, &c. Their descend- 
ants are still found in various countries of Europe, 
especially in Brandenburg, Prussia, England, and 
Holland. 



CENTURY XVIII. 

1. Romish Missions. — 2. Protestant Missions. — 3. Infidelity. — 
4. The Bull Unigenitus. — 5. Jesuits and Jansenists. — 6. Greek 
and Lutheran churches. — 7. Moravians. — 8. British churches. 
— 9. Churches in the United States — Presbyterian. — 10. 
Episcopalian. — 11. Methodist — 12. Baptist 



I. The Jesuits, and others among the Catholics, 
continued their exertions to propagate Christianity, 
or rather Romanism, in foreign parts ; and their 
success was considerable in the East Indies ; es- 
pecially in the kingdoms of Carnate, Madura, and 
Maravia, on the coast of Malabar, and in China, 
Tonquin, and elsewhere ; and also in some pro- 
vinces of America. The question which had been 
much agitated in the Catholic church, whether the 
Jesuits residing in China, had advocated the cause 
of Christ well or ill, in permitting their converts 
still to retain their ancient rites and ceremonies, 
was decided, in 1704, by Clement XI. in a man- 



308 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

ner adverse to the Jesuits. This decree, however, 
was considerably mitigated in 1715 ; and the Chi- 
nese Christians were permitted to keep in their 
houses, tablets, on which are written, in golden 
letters, the names of their ancestors and of Con- 
fucius ; and to honour them with lighted candles, 
with incense, and with tables set out with viands, 
fruits, and spices ; nay they may even address 
these tablets, and the graves of their ancestors, as 
supplicants, prostrating themselves to the ground : 
provided all superstition and appearance of reli- 
gion be avoided ; and that these rites be regarded 
as mere testimonies of respect to their ancestors, 
or as civil honours. All this concession, however, 
did not satisfy the Emperor of China, who is utter- 
ly opposed to allowing any innovation to be made 
in the ancient customs and institutions of the coun- 
try. The Roman Catholic cause in China has 
therefore long been in a languishing and precari- 
ous condition, but it is said, is by no means given 
up. In the Jesuit mission of Tonquin, it is said, 
that in the year 1826, they baptized children of 
believers, three thousand two hundred and seven- 
ty-three, and of unbelievers, about one thousand ; 
adults one thousand and six, confirmed baptisms 
administered by catechists or Christians, during 
the absence of a priest, five thousand three hun- 
dred and sixty-five ; heard confessions, one hun- 
dred seventy-seven thousand, four hundred and 
fifty-six ; administered the communion seventy- 
eight thousand, six hundred and ninety-two times ; 
viatica, one thousand, three hundred and three ; 
extreme unctions, two thousand seven hundred and 
six. They had marriages nine hundred and for- 
ty-three, and confirmations, three thousand nine 
hundred and forty-one. 



EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. 309 

II. The English and Dutch made increasing 
efforts to spread the knowledge of Christianity 
among the nations of Asia and America. Fred- 
erick IV., king of Denmark, sent out missionaries 
in 1706, to preach Christian truth to the Indians 
on the coast of Malabar, who met with considera- 
ble success. The Moravians established missions 
in many parts of the world during this century ; 
but it was reserved for the nineteenth century to 
enkindle and develope the missionary spirit, as it 
now exists in almost all evangelical churches. 

III. Infidelity found not a few advocates, espe- 
cially in England and Holland, in the early part 
of the eighteenth century. Among these were 
John Toland, Anthony Collins, Matthias Tindal, 
Thos. Woolaston, Thomas Morgan, John Chubb, 
and John Mandeville. Most of these writers were 
ably answered by John Leland, in his View of 
Deistical Writers. 

IV. The popes of this century were said to be 
of much better character than those of former 
times. Efforts had been made to gain over Pro- 
testants, by explaining away and lowering down 
the most offensive Romish doctrines : but Clement 
XI., by publishing the famous decree called the 
Bull Unigenitus, in 1714, discovered that the doc- 
trines of the church of Rome were precisely the 
same that they had been at the Reformation. This 
Bull was issued against the French translation of 
the New Testament, with notes, by Pasquier 
Quesnel, priest of the Oratory, and a celebrated 
Jansenist. It condemned one hundred and one 
propositions of the notes ; such as — Grace the 
effectual principle of all good works ; faith the 
fountain of all the graces of a Christian ; the Scrip- 
tures should be read by all, &c. This Bull excit- 



310 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

ed terrible commotions in France ; where many 
espoused the cause of Quesnel, and refusing to 
submit to it, appealed to a future council. But 
Louis XIV., influenced by the Jesuits, made it the 
law of the land : and in consequence, many be- 
came exiles, and retired among their brethren in 
Holland ;. others were coerced by violence and fear, 
to approve the decree of the pontiff; and others, 
being deprived of their livings, their honours, and 
their offices, removed to foreign countries. 

V. The contests between the Jesuits and Do- 
minicans ; between the Dominicans, and Francis- 
cans ; and especially between the Jesuits and Jan- 
senists, continued to rage with no little animosity. 
The Jansenists undertook to establish their cause 
by miracles ; and gave out, that God had impart- 
ed to the ashes and bones of some of the most 
distinguished of their party, the power of healing 
the most inveterate diseases. The most celebra- 
ted of these was Francis de Paris, a man of noble 
birth, but gloomy and superstitious, and who had 
voluntarily brought on his own death, by abstin- 
ence from food, and other self tortures. To mira- 
cles, divine visions were superadded ; and many 
professed to be actuated by the Holy Spirit, and 
uttered prophecies, often of the most insipid char- 
acter. Among the Jansenists, however, were 
many learned, able, and worthy advocates of the 
truth ; and in this respect, they far excelled the 
Jesuits. This powerful fraternity (the Jesuits) had 
arrived at such a pitch of pride, and wealth, and 
insolence, as began to draw down upon them a 
general feeling of hatred and disgust. And this 
was greatly increased by the Provincial Letters of 
Pascal, which had been published in the preceding 
century, and by the writings of Voltaire, and other 



EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. 311 

wits of that day. Their ruin, therefore, came on 
apace. In 1762, the order was abolished in 
France, by act of parliament, as contrary to the 
laws of the state, to the obedience due to the sov- 
ereign, and to the welfare of the kingdom. Their 
effects were alienated, but they were permitted to 
reside in the kingdom, under certain restrictions. 
In Spain their ruin was most sudden and unexpect- 
ed. At midnight, March 31, 1767, large bodies 
of military surrounded the six colleges of Jesuits 
in Madrid, forced the gates, secured the bells, col- 
lected the fathers in the refectory, and read to 
them the king's order for their transportation. 
They were immediately shipped to the ecclesiasti- 
cal states in Italy. The like was done three days 
after, with every other college of the order in the 
kingdom. All their property was confiscated, and 
only a small pension assigned to each, so long as 
he should remain quiet and peaceable in the place 
appointed him. A similar seizure and deporta- 
tion took place in the Indies, and an immense pro- 
perty was acquired by the government. Spain 
was soon followed by most other governments of 
Europe, that had not already expelled them : and 
in 1773, the order was entirely suppressed by pope 
Clement XIV., who is supposed afterwards to have 
fallen a victim to their revenge. But in August 
1814, a bull was issued by pope Pius VII., restor- 
ing the order to all their former privileges, and 
calling upon all Roman Catholic princes to afford 
them protection and encouragement. And now 
these sworn friends, and liege subjects of the Pope, 
are putting extensively into practice, all their 
missionary and proselyting arts, in these United 
States. 

VI. Of the Greek Church in the eighteenth 



312 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

century, nothing particular can be said. The 
Russians, under the guidance of Peter the Great, 
adopted some better regulations for their church ; 
and efforts were made to extend the influences of 
Christianity over the savage tribes inhabiting Si- 
beria. In the Lutheran church, there seems to 
have been a very great falling off from the truth 
and simplicity of the gospel, from about the mid- 
dle of this century. The divines and doctors of 
that church, forsaking the simple truths of the 
Bible, betook themselves to philosophy and meta- 
physics ; and made these the standard of truth, in- 
stead of the word of God. And hence sprung 
that neology and rationalism, that have almost 
taken away the foundations of truth, and substi- 
tuted a refined idealism for Christianity. 

VII. In the early part of this century, the Mo- 
ravians settled at Herrnhut, in Lusatia, under the 
patronage of Count Zinzendorf. They were at 
first few in number ; but they very soon in- 
creased, and sent out missionaries into various 
parts of the world. Count Zinzendorf himself 
became one of their preachers, and travelled ex- 
tensively through Germany and Denmark ; visited 
London in 1737, came to America in 1742, 
preached at Germantown and Bethlehem, in 
Pennsylvania, visited various Indian tribes, and 
established the first Indian Moravian congregation 
in North America. As early as the year 1765, 
this extraordinary people had established various 
missionary stations, in the West Indies, among 
the negroes, — in Greenland, — in North America, 
among the Indians, — at the Cape of Good Hope, 
— in South America, among the negroes and 
Indians, — and in Asiatic Russia. In their settle- 
ments, of which there are several in the United 



EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. 313 

States, the Moravians hold a community of goods, 
and have several other regulations that are singu- 
lar; but they maintain the character of a decidedly 
pious, industrious, and upright people. In regard 
to religious doctrines, they hold to the Augsburgh 
Confession ; but are by no means bigoted or in- 
tolerant. 

VIII. In England, while the Episcopal Church 
is the established church, and enjoys all the pri- 
vileges and prerogatives that the state can confer, 
yet all other denominations have been tolerated, 
under the name of Dissenters, since William III., 
Prince of Orange, came to the throne, in 1689. In 
the early part of the eighteenth century, origi- 
nated what was called the Bangorian controversy, 
from Benjamin Hoadley, Bishop of Bangor. He 
advocated what has since been called low church 
principles, against spiritual tyranny, and the ex- 
clusive claims of episcopacy, and in favour of the 
civil and religious liberties of mankind. He was 
learnedly and eloquently answered by archbishop 
Potter and others, who strenuously contended for 
the prerogatives and authority of the church. 

About the middle of this century, a very extra- 
ordinary revival of religion took place, which ex- 
tended through many parts of England, Ireland, 
Scotland, and these then British colonies, by the 
preaching of the Wesleys, Whitefield, Hervey, 
Fletcher, and others. They were at first in con- 
nexion with the Church of England, and White- 
field and Hervey continued that connexion, hold- 
ing as they did Calvinistic doctrines, and differing 
in that respect from the Wesleys. John Wesley, 
a man of great learning and piety, and of singular 
zeal and perseverance, organized and established 
the society of Wesleyan Methodists, which has 
27 



314 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

flourished and spread so extensively, especially in 
England, Ireland, and these United States. This 
very extensive and respectable connexion are, in 
their church order and forms, in many respects, 
similar to the Church of England, but in their 
doctrine, they are Arminian. Another connexion 
arose about the same time, called Lady Hunting- 
don's, which still exists, if I mistake not, as a 
separate connexion. This pious and munificent 
lady expended the most of an ample fortune in 
building chapels, and maintaining preachers in 
destitute places, and wherever there was the pros- 
pect of doing good, especially in London, and 
throughout Wales. The preachers she employed 
were chiefly of the established church ; but their 
course giving offence to the bishop of London, he 
threatened to expel them, if they persisted ; upon 
which they withdrew, formed a Confession of 
Faith, and put themselves under the protection of 
the toleration act, A. D. 1777. 

IX. The Presbyterian church commenced in 
this country, about the beginning of the eighteenth 
century, and gradually increased and spread, 
chiefly among emigrants from Scotland and the 
north of Ireland, and their descendants. In 1716, 
the first Synod was formed, comprising the four 
presbyteries of Philadelphia, Newcastle, Snow 
Hill, and Long Island. It was not long before a 
serious difference took place, and parties were 
formed. They who were most zealous for strict 
orthodoxy, for adherence to presbyterial order, 
and for a learned ministry, were called the " old 
side ;" while they who laid a greater stress on 
vital piety than on any other qualification, and 
who were less strenuous in regard to ecclesiastical 
order and learning, were called the " new side," 



EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. 315 

or " new lights." This unhappy state of things 
continued to increase, until, in 1741, the Synod 
was rent asunder ; and the Synod of New York, 
composed of " new side" men, was set up in op- 
position to that of Philadelphia, which retained 
the original name, and comprehended all the " old 
side" men that belonged to the general body. 
This schism existed for seventeen years. After 
several years spent in negotiations, mutual conces- 
sions being made, a re-union of the two Synods 
was effected, in 1758, under the title of the " Sy- 
nod of New York and Philadelphia." After this 
union, they went on to increase in numbers and 
harmony, until the close of the Revolutionary 
war, when they could number about one hundred 
and seventy ministers. In 1788, the public 
standards of the Church, after being carefully re- 
vised, were adopted ; and the present organization 
established, differing very little from that of the 
Church of Scotland. By this arrangement, the 
body was divided into four Synods, viz : — the 
Synod of New York and New Jersey, the Synod 
of Philadelphia, the Synod of Virginia, and the 
Synod of the Carolinas ; and over these was 
constituted, as a bond of union, the General As- 
sembly. 

X. The Episcopal Church was planted in these 
colonies by the first emigrants from England ; 
but no bishops were sent over, and of course, no 
ordinations could take place here, until after the 
revolutionary war. At a meeting in New York, 
in 1784, it was determined that application should 
be made to the prelates of the Church of England, 
for episcopal ordination. The Rev. William 
White, D. D. of Philadelphia, and the Rev. Sam- 
uel Provost, D. D. of New York, were sent over 



316 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

to England for this purpose, and were consecrated 
bishops, in the chapel of the archiepiscopal palace 
of Lambeth, by the most Reverend John Moore, 
arch-bishop of Canterbury, being assisted by sev- 
eral other bishops. The Rev. James Madison, 
D. D. also received consecration in England. 
These together with the Rev. Samuel Seabury, 
who had been previously consecrated in Scotland, 
proceeded in 1792, at a convention held in the 
city of New York, to consecrate the Rev. Thomas 
John Clagget, bishop of Maryland, who was the 
first bishop consecrated on American ground. 
Since that time, the number of bishops has in- 
creased to sixteen, and that of other clergymen to 
six hundred and forty-eight. The Book of Com- 
mon Prayer of the Church of England, has been 
adopted by the Protestant Episcopal church in the 
United States, with some very slight omissions 
and alterations. 

XI. The first Methodist class in America was 
formed in the city of New York by Mr. Philip 
Embury, in 1766. But Dr. Coke first organized 
the church in a regular form, at a meeting held 
for conference in the city of Baltimore, in the 
year 1784, when sixty-one preachers were present. 
According to instructions received from Mr. Wes- 
ley, Mr. Asbury, who was unanimously elected 
by the suffrages of his brethren, was first ordained 
deacon, then elder, and afterwards bishop, by Dr. 
Coke, with the assistance of the presbyters present. 
The first delegated general conference was held in 
the city of New York, in May, 1812. There 
were at that time six hundred and eighty-eight 
travelling preachers. In 1833, there were five 
bishops, twenty-two annual conferences, and two 



EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. 317 

thousand two hundred and thirty travelling 
preachers. 

XII. The first Baptist Church in the United 
States was founded in Providence, Rhode Island, 
by Roger Williams, A. D. 1639, as has already 
been mentioned in the seventeenth century. What 
progress they made at the north, at an early 
period, I am not able to say. But they were not 
known in Virginia and further south, until about 
seventy or eighty years ago. They at first met 
with great opposition, and in Virginia, with direct 
persecution ; their preachers being several times 
imprisoned, fined, pilloried, and whipped. But 
their plain style, great zeal, and peculiar manner, 
accompanied with fervent piety, excited great 
attention, and gained many converts. They 
spread and increased very rapidly ; and are now, 
perhaps, the most numerous denomination of 
Christians in the United States, numbering three 
hundred and nine associations, and three thousand 
two hundred and four ordained ministers. The 
Baptists in the United States are generally Calvin- 
istic in their doctrines, and congregational or in- 
dependent, in their church government. 



27* 



APPENDIX. 



TO THE REV. JAMES WHAREY. 

Rev. and Dear Brother — 
You request me to give some solution of the ques- 
tion, why in the " History of the Waldenses," by 
Mr. William Jones, of the Baptist denomination, 
which has been extensively circulated in the 
United States, nothing appears to indicate the 
psedobaptist belief and practice of those far-famed 
witnesses of the truth ? In reply to this inquiry, 
I have only to say, that two facts are unquestion- 
able. The one fact is, that the ancient records 
of the Waldenses do contain abundant and con- 
clusive evidence that they did baptize their child- 
ren. The other fact is, that Mr. Jones has care- 
fully withheld all the evidences of this fact from 
his readers. What were his motives for doing 
this, and how he reconciled it with historical can- 
dour and verity, are questions which it is not in- 
cumbent on me to answer, and on which I dare 
not pronounce. They must be submitted to the 
judgment of every impartial reader. But both 
facts are unquestionable. 

1. As to the first fact, it is not necessary to go 
into much detail, but on the accuracy of the fol- 
lowing quotations you may rely. 

In an old " Defence," which the Waldenses of 
318 



APPENDIX. 319 

Bohemia sent to Ladislaus, their king, who had 
severely persecuted them, dated A. D. 1508, about 
ten years before the Reformation by Luther com- 
menced, they repel a number of calumnies, which 
had been circulated against them by the Roman- 
ists. In this defence we find the following une- 
quivocal passage : 

" The fourth calumny was concerning Baptism, 
which it was said, they denied to little infants, but 
from this imputation they acquit themselves as fol- 
lows : Neither is the time or place appointed for 
those who must be baptized. But charity and the 
edification of the church and congregation ought to 
be the rule in this matter. Yet notwithstanding, 
we bring our children to be baptized, which they 
ought to do to whom they are nearest related, as 
their parents, or they whom God hath inspired 
with such a charity." " True it is," say they, 
" that being for some hundreds of years constrain- 
ed to suffer our children to be baptized by the Ro- 
man priests, we deferred the doing of it as long as 
possible, because we detested the human inventions 
annexed to the institution of that holy Sacrament, 
which we looked upon as pollutions of it. And 
by reason that our pastors, whom we call Barbes, 
are often in travels abroad for the service of the 
church, we could not have baptism administered 
to our children by our own ministers ; we there- 
fore sometimes kept them long without baptism, 
upon which delay, the priests have charged us 
with that reproach." Perrin, Part II. Book I. 
Chap. IV. 

In a "Treatise of the Old Waidenses and Albi- 
genses, concerning Antichrist, Purgatory, Invoca- 
tion of Saints, and the Sacraments," and dated by 
Perrin in 1220, the following passage, under the 



320 APPENDIX. 

head of Sacraments, occur. * That which is of 
no necessity in the administration of baptism, is 
the exorcism, the breathing on, the sign of the 
cross upon the infant's breast and forehead, the 
salt which they put into his mouth, the spittle put 
into his ears and nose, &c." Pcmn, Part II. Book 
V. Art. IV. 

In a " Brief Confession of Faith," made with 
general consent by the ministers and heads of 
families of the churches in the valleys of Piedmont, 
assembled at Augrogne, Sept. 12, 1532, the fol- 
lowing explicit declaration is found : 

" Concerning the matter of the Sacraments, it 
has been determined by the Holy Scripture, that 
we have but two sacramental signs left us by Je- 
sus Christ ; the one is Baptism, the other is the 
Eucharist, which we receive to show that our per- 
severance in the faith is such as we promised when 
we were baptized, being little children, and more- 
over, in remembrance of that great benefit given 
to us by Jesus Christ, when he died for our re- 
demption, and washed us with his precious blood." 
Morland, Book I. Chap IV. 

Again, Perrin tells us that, in the year 1500, 
that is about eleven years before the Reformation 
by Luther commenced, Louis XII. king of France, 
having been informed that a certain people inha- 
bited a particular part of his dominions, who re- 
fused to commune with the Church of Rome, and 
were represented as exceedingly corrupt in their 
practices, sent a trusty agent to visit them and in- 
quire into their real character and habits. The 
agent on returning, reported that he had found the 
people whom he had been charged to examine, 
and that they were by no means so corrupt as they 
had been represented ; nay, that the information 



APPENDIX. 321 

which had been given concerning the Waldenses 
of Provence, was notoriously false ; " that they 
were not any ways guilty either of sorcery or 
adultery, but lived like honest men, doing no hurt 
or injury to any man ; that they caused their child- 
ren to be baptized, and taught them the articles of 
the creed, and the commandments of God ; that 
they carefully observed the Lord's day, and that 
the word of God was purely expounded unto 
them." Perrin, Part II. Book II. Chap. VIII. 

Perrin mentions this report concerning the Wal- 
denses in another place, as a remarkable instance 
of a testimony in their favour, extorted from adver- 
saries. Perrin, Part II. Book I. Chap. V. 

I might quote several other passages from the 
early documents of these ancient people, but these 
are enough. They establish, incontestably, the 
first fact to which I referred, as well as ten thou- 
sand. Now, 

2. As to the second fact which I mentioned, it 
is certain that not a syllable of the foregoing ex- 
tracts, or anything like them, is to be found in Mr. 
Jones's history. He refers familiarly to the works 
of Perrin and Sir Samuel Morland, and speaks of 
them as the principal sources from which he had 
drawn his materials, but carefully excludes every 
thing which they say that savours of infant bap- 
tism. Nay more, he expressly quotes the " Treat- 
ise on Antichrist, &c." and the " Defence," sent 
to king Ladislaus, and seems to regard them as 
perfectly authentic documents, worthy of entire 
credit, and proceeds to pick out from them what 
suited his purpose, as a Baptist ; but the facts, so 
clearly and unequivocally stated, which make 
against the Baptist cause, he studiously withholds 
from his readers. 



322 APPENDIX, 

But this is not the worst. The last extract above 
stated, from Perrin, found in Book I. Chap. V. of 
his History, Mr. Jones directly tampers with, and 
falsifies. In other cases, he was only chargeable 
with withholding from his readers, testimony of 
the most direct kind, which lay plainly before him, 
and which, from his manner of quoting, it is im- 
possible he should have overlooked. But in the 
case before us, he is guilty of direct forgery ! The 
statement in Perrin stands thus : 

" King Louis XII. having received information 
from the enemies of the Waldenses, dwelling in 
Provence, of several heinous crimes which they 
fathered upon them, sent to the place Monsieur 
Adam Fumee, Master of Requests, and a certain 
Sorbonnist Doctor, called Parui, who was his con- 
fessor, to inquire into the matter. They visited all 
their parishes and temples, and neither found there 
any images, or sign of the ornaments belonging to 
the mass, or ceremonies of the Romish Church. 
Much less could they discover any of those crimes 
with which they were charged. But rather, that 
they kept the Sabbath duly ; caused their children 
to be baptized, according to the primitive Church ; 
taught them the articles of the Christian faith, and 
the commandments of God. The king, having 
heard the report of the said commissioners, said, 
with an oath, that they were better men than him- 
self or his people." Book I. Chap. V. 

Now, this passage Mr. Jones professes to quote : 
and expressly refers to Perrin as the source from 
which he derived it. But, instead of honestly 
copying the statement above quoted — " they caus- 
ed their children to be baptized, according to the 
primitive church ;" — he alters and makes it read 
thus — " They kept the Sabbath day ; observed the 



APPENDIX. 823 

ordinance of baptism, according to the primitive 
Church ; instructed their children in the articles 
of the Christian faith," &c. Jones, II, Chap. V. 
Sect. IV. p. 71. Here is neither more nor less 
than the very essence of forgery ! It is solemnly, 
in the face of the public, representing an author as 
saying what he does not say ; and that, most evi- 
dently, to serve a sectarian turn. 

On these facts further comment is unnecessary. 
Such management is unworthy of a good cause. 
I leave the whole matter to be estimated by every 
candid reader. — If Mr. Jones had told his readers 
that there were such passages as I have quoted to 
be found in the documents from which he professed 
to derive testimony, and had, at the same time, 
assigned his reasons for refusing to believe them, 
all would have been well. But, as the matter now 
stands, can he be exculpated from the charge of 
premeditated deception 1 

I know that some of our Baptist brethren have 
ventured to allege that the Waldenses were Anti- 
paedobaptist, because the followers of Peter de 
Bruis, who was considered as belonging to those 
people, is said to have rejected infant baptism. 
But the Petrobrussians were only a small fraction, 
probably not more than a thirtieth or fortieth part 
of the whole Waldensian body ; and entirely dif- 
fered from the mass of their brethren on this 
subject. Just as well might it be said that the 
Baptist denomination in the United States, keep 
Saturday as their Sabbath, because there are a 
few seventh day Baptists in our country. Be- 
sides, after all, the form in which the Petrobrus- 
sians held the Antipsedobaptist doctrine, renders it 
wholly unavailing to the cause of our Baptist 
brethren. Peter de Bruis taught that infants were 



324 APPENDIX. 

incapable of salvation, and therefore ought not 
to be baptized. But if we wish to know the opi- 
nions of the Waldenses as a body, we must go to 
their Confessions, and other public documents. 
This we have done. 

It may be shown, with equal evidence, that 
these pious witnesses of the truth not only bap- 
tized their children, but also that they adopted 
the Presbyterian form of Church government. 
That is, they had no bishops, in the prelatical 
sense of the word ; their ministers were all equal ; 
each church was governed by a bench of Ruling 
Elders ; and their whole body regulated and 
bound together by a Synodical Assembly, which 
met once a year, at which time their candidates 
for the ministry were commonly examined and 
ordained. I think we may say with confidence, 
that if ever there were Psedobaptists and Presby- 
terians in Scotland, they were also found, long 
before the Reformation, in the Valleys of Pied- 
mont. 

I am, reverend and dear sir, with great respect 
your brother in Christ, 

Samuel Miller. 

Princeton, N. J. 

March 7, 1838. 



THE END. 



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